Somerville High seniors get schooled on finance

Evan Diamond (far left) and Tenellie Simmons (fourth from left), CSBsmarts presenters, with students from Somerville High School’s personal finance class.

The following was submitted by Mills & Company:


Cambridge Savings Bank recently concluded a four-part series of financial literacy lessons custom tailored for Somerville High Schoolers, as Cambridge Savings Bank’s CSBsmart program played guest host to Somerville High’s personal finance class.

24 students heard from trained financial education experts from the bank on the topics of: budgeting and saving, managing a checking account, credit smarts and fraud smarts.

Inspired by the desire to contribute to the economic development of the communities it serves  by empowering individuals with financial education and money management skills, Cambridge Savings Bank recently launched an expanded version of CSBsmart.

In light of recent studies showing that over half of America’s teenagers lack proper financial literacy, the bank decided to pay particular attention to local schools. Bank officials met with Somerville High School Assistant Principal for Career, Vocation and Technical Education, Leo DeSimone, who agreed the program would be valuable for the school’s students, as they get set to enter college – where they will be saddled with financial decisions, mainly in the form of financial aid and student loans - or the working world.

Studies published by the Association of Financial Planning and Education in 2009 found that the median teenage financial literacy score is only 48.3 percent. The same studies found that financial education resulted in significant improvement in all aspects of financial behavior. CSBsmart’s own monitoring in the past has shown a 93% increase in terms of financial understanding and awareness, between pre- and post-lesson benchmarks.

Cambridge Savings Bank recently concluded a 4-part series of financial literacy lessons custom tailored for Somerville High Schoolers, as Cambridge Savings Bank’s CSBsmart program played guest host to Somerville High’s personal finance class.

24 students heard from trained financial education experts from the bank on the topics of: budgeting and saving, managing a checking account, credit smarts and fraud smarts.

Inspired by the desire to contribute to the economic development of the communities it serves  by empowering individuals with financial education and money management skills, Cambridge Savings Bank recently launched an expanded version of CSBsmart.

In light of recent studies showing that over half of America’s teenagers lack proper financial literacy, the bank decided to pay particular attention to local schools. Bank officials met with Somerville High School Assistant Principal for Career, Vocation and Technical Education, Leo DeSimone, who agreed the program would be valuable for the school’s students, as they get set to enter college – where they will be saddled with financial decisions, mainly in the form of financial aid and student loans - or the working world.

Studies published by the Association of Financial Planning and Education in 2009 found that the median teenage financial literacy score is only 48.3 percent. The same studies found that financial education resulted in significant improvement in all aspects of financial behavior. CSBsmart’s own monitoring in the past has shown a 93% increase in terms of financial understanding and awareness, between pre- and post-lesson benchmarks.