1. Justin Sarratt Clemson University Youth Development Leadership

2.  Do students understand why they go to school and how education will open the doors that they wish to go through?  Do H.S. students have specific goals for achievement and to graduate?  Are high schools setting up students for employment and being able to be fiscally responsible?

3.  Many high school students do not understand: What awaits them after high school The cost of living in this world How education can help them afford this price and succeed.  Graduation rates and employment rates need to be improved today in order to set students up for a life where they can afford to live and prosper in American society.

4.  By The Numbers 72%: 2008 national high school graduation rate. 1.2 million: Students that did not graduate from high school in 2011.  $154 Billion: Total lost life-time earnings for this class of dropouts alone. 52.4%: Percentage U.S. high school seniors scored on a 30 question financial literacy survey

5.  The purpose of this study is to educate high school students:  Of the responsibilities that await them in the working world  How to be fiscally responsible, and  To understand how and why education will put them on them on the path to independence.  Improve Graduation Rates and Employment Rates

6. 4 Year High School Program One day event at the Beginning of each School Year Freshman: Why they attend high school and creating a plan to graduate. Sophomore: Higher Education Requirements and Employment. Junior: Financial Literacy. Senior: Career Research and Applying to Colleges.

7.  What is the level of educational aspirations and financial literacy of high school students prior to participating in a focused intervention designed to improve these outcomes ?  Will participating in the “Your Future” program improve students’ future educational aspirations after completing the program?  Will participating in the “Your Future” program increase students’ level of fiscal responsibility upon completing the program?  Will participating in the “Your Future” program increase educational aspirations and fiscal responsibility relative to a control group of students who did not participate in the program?

8.  By The Numbers 72%: 2008 national high school graduation rate. 1.2 million: Students that did not graduate from high school in 2011.  $154 Billion: Total lost life-time earnings for this class of dropouts alone. 52.4%: Percentage U.S. high school seniors scored on a 30 question financial literacy survey

9.  9.1% Unemployment Rate in August 2011  High School dropouts have a greater chance of unemployment during economic downturns Source: U.S. Department of Education, 2011

10. Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011

13.  Located in Gaffney, SC  Grades 9 – 12  2,200 Students  Class Levels College Prep / Tech Prep Honors Advanced Placement / Dual Credit

14.  Quantitative Research Design  Survey Research  Survey administered to 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students at Gaffney High School in Gaffney, SC  Stratified Random sample because will include students of all academic levels within each grade (i.e. college prep, honors, advanced placement)  Survey looks into high school students’ knowledge of goals, requirements for higher education and employment, and financial literacy.  Survey will determine a need for the “Your Future” program.

15.  Will provide accurate findings of students’ knowledge of the topics under review.  Will determine the need for the “Your Future” program.  Will determine exact information students need to be taught to prepare them for the world after high school.

16.  Alliance for Excellent Education (Alliance). “The High Cost of High School Dropouts,” 2011.  Alliance for Excellent Education (Alliance). “The Nation’s High Schools.” 2012.  Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2012). Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers. Retrieved from U.S. Department of Labor website: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf  Conley, D. (1999). Being black, living in the red: Race, wealth, and social policy in America. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.  Editorial Projects in Education, ― Diplomas Count 2011: Beyond High School, Before Baccalaureate, ‖ special issue, Education Week 30, no. 34 (2011).  "Education pays..." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 4 May 2011. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 13 Mar. 2012.  Hagenbaugh, B. (2006, April 04). USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2006-04-05-literatcy_x.htm  How the Average Consumer Spends their Paycheck. (2009, October). Retrieved from http://www.creditloan.com/infographics/how-the-average-consumer-spends-their- paycheck/ http://www.creditloan.com/infographics/how-the-average-consumer-spends-their-  Investing Answers. (2012). investinganswers. Retrieved from http://www.investinganswers.com/financial- dictionary/economics/unemployment-rate-809http://www.investinganswers.com/financial- dictionary/economics/unemployment-  IRS (Internal Revenue Service). (2012). Retrieved from http://www.irs.gov/app/understandingTaxes/index.jsp  "National Standards: Food, Clothing and Other Items." Internal Revenue Service. 1 Mar. 2011. 13 Mar. 2012.  T. D. Snyder and S. A. Dillow, Digest of Education Statistics 2010, (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, 2011).  U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, The Nation’s Report Card: Reading 2009 (NCES 2010–458) (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2009).  U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, ― Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, ‖ http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?ln.http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?ln  Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2012). Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers. Retrieved from U.S. Department of Labor website: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf