Claymont high school students learn about investing
Investing in the stock market is part of the curriculum for business foundations, which is one of three classes currently offered in the CTE business program at Claymont.
Claymont’s career-tech business program has a new educational tool that helps students invest in the stock market. Last year the district purchased a stock ticker from Rise Display in Las Vegas, and it has been a big hit among students and staff.
The ticker provides students with up-to-date quotes and information on stocks, cryptocurrency and foreign exchange rates, as well as national news headlines.
Investing in the stock market is part of the curriculum for business foundations, which is one of three classes currently offered in the CTE business program at Claymont. Other courses students can take include marketing, where students advertise and run a school store, and entrepreneurship, where students learn the skills needed to run their own businesses.
Next year, with the help of a bank loan and the Junior Achievement program, students will start and operate a small business during school hours and compete with other business programs around the state.
According to Andrew Zimmerman, the school’s business teacher, “Students utilize the stock ticker with an online simulator, thus allowing them to invest $100,000 of play money while they are still in the learning phase.”
Zimmerman has seen a significant amount of interest in learning about the stock market over the past five years, and he sees it as a great opportunity to get kids thinking about their financial futures.
“Even though I grew up knowing generally what stocks were, I didn’t really start educating myself and taking risks until I was in my 30s. These kids should get quite a head start by the time they graduate,” Zimmerman said.
The ticker was purchased using career-tech funds from the state.
The business program is one of four career-tech programs offered at Claymont High School, along with agriculture, information technology and manufacturing operations.