Ohio TMA's Financial Literacy Program at Shaw High School

By Nancy Terrill, Inglewood. Reprinted with permission from the Ohio Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association.

This past year, a group of Ohio Turnaround Management Association (TMA) members set out to bring a financial literacy program to students at Shaw High School in East Cleveland. What began as a summer conversation about how our members could give back turned into a standing monthly commitment inside a high school law classroom.

How the program began

Many in the legal community are familiar with the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s 3Rs program, which provides outreach to Cleveland and East Cleveland high school students. Volunteers teach the rights, responsibilities and realities of the law. The program started in 2006 and has grown to more than 500 volunteers serving more than 3,000 students across 18 high schools.

This past summer, a group of Ohio TMA members — the professional association for turnaround and restructuring specialists — began to explore how TMA could engage with that same community. Chris Meyer of Squire Sanders, a past president of Ohio TMA and an active member of the 3R program, saw a further need: teaching financial literacy to these inner-city students. Chris had access to learning materials from other groups across the country, along with contacts at the schools. A group of us enthusiastically volunteered to run a pilot at Shaw High School this school year, hoping it could grow into a larger program in the years ahead.

Inside the classroom at Shaw High School

Our program started in September. Each month, five TMA members gather in Ms. Lori Eiler’s high school law class at Shaw. There we have the chance to work with about 30 students, all juniors and seniors who aspire to attend college. The topics we have covered so far include:

• How to apply for a job and what to expect when you begin working
• How to prepare a personal budget
• How to open a bank account
• What banking services are available and what to avoid
• Credit cards — the benefits and pitfalls of credit

The first class opened with introductions. Each volunteer told the students a little about their career, then added a comment about what they were like as high school juniors. There were plenty of snickers as some of us disclosed that we were so old there were no interscholastic athletic teams for girls back in the day. Then the students shared a bit about themselves and their personal goals. All were dressed in accordance with the school’s strict dress code. Several had excellent posture and declared proudly that they were top academic performers. Others are star athletes who intend to earn scholarships from top schools on their athletic skills. Still others named the goal of hitting the SAT score that would qualify them for academic scholarships. Some were shy, but even they were curious about the professionals in their classroom.

Each class involves a 15-minute discussion on the topic at hand. The class then breaks into tables of four or five students, and each professional walks a smaller group through the remaining materials. The worksheets are self-explanatory and built to drive home the key points. The students learn, for example, that credit cards are a wonderful tool for building a credit history but very expensive if you do not pay the bills in full and on time. The session ends with a Jeopardy game, where the tables compete to answer questions correctly for points — and some of us get blamed for teaching to the test.

Why this community, and why now

According to the 2010 census, East Cleveland’s population of 17,843 declined 34.4% from 2000, and 93.2% of the city’s residents are of African American descent. In 2010, 33.8% of the city’s housing was vacant and 37.1% of the population was living in poverty, while per capita income was $14,825 compared with the Ohio average of $24,830. In spite of the urban decay that surrounds these students, Shaw High School — represented by a clearly devoted teacher in Ms. Eiler — is dedicated to giving these kids the tools and information they need to succeed.

The volunteers

I have been proud to be part of this pilot program, as have the other volunteers:

• Chris Meyer, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP
• Jim Lawniczak, Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP
• Kelly Burgan, Baker Hostetler LLP
• Patty Missal, Aurora Management Partners
• Sally Barton, KeyBank NA
• John Lane, Inglewood
• Mark Seryak, First Merit Bank
• Joe Esmont, Baker Hostetler LLP

Get involved

Ohio TMA plans to expand this program to additional inner-city schools to teach these lessons to more of the region’s best and brightest students. But we need help. If you want to be part of the solution in a fun and rewarding way, we ask you to volunteer your time to this worthwhile program. Contact Nancy Terrill at nterrill@ingw.com or 440 477 4781 to learn how you can participate in future programs.