At the start of 2024, the D7 Superintendent announced that a W!SE Financial Literacy Program would be open to middle school students and families across the district. Eighth graders from across District 7 were invited to apply. MS/HS223 Principal Eric Lincoln invited Arete Education to provide a career connected learning internship experience modeled on the successful 10th Grade Week Without Walls partnership with RTW Charitable Foundation in January 2024. Both MS 224 and MS 343 sent middle school students to participate with MS/HS 223 students in the internship experience on Saturdays throughout March and April.

A total of 25 students successfully completed 4 financial literacy classes held at PS 5 on Saturdays in March and completed 20 hours of internship experiences with Arete Education and RTW on Saturday afternoons in March and all-day Saturday sessions in April. MS/HS223 faculty Quanell Lopez, Sean Robinson, and Trinese Davis worked alongside Arete consultant Sarah Benis Scheier-Dolberg to facilitate the cross-school partnership for D7 W!SE participants. In the final weeks of the internship, Industry Scholar Program (ISP) Interns with Arete’s Communications team joined the students to provide peer mentoring as the D7 W!SE students completed their social media campaigns to inform their communities in the Bronx about common diseases in their neighborhoods like asthma, diabetes, breast cancer, lupus, hypertension, and strokes.

On April 19th, the cohort of 25 students from MS/HS223, MS 224, and MS 343 presented what they learned through a Financial Literacy Expo held at Metropolitan College of NY - Bronx. They were supported by their high school mentors in the ISP program with Arete, 10th graders in Mr. Robinson’s finance class at MS/HS223, and the teaching team.

During the Expo, Arete ISP Interns had the chance to interview some participants. Essence, a MS/HS223 eighth grader participating in the D7 W!SE Financial Literacy Program, shared her insights on what she has learned through the internship portion of the program with Arete Education and RTW. When asked what she learned about strokes, she said “I learned that it affects your brain and the way it works, and if it's really serious, one part of your brain dies. I didn’t know that.” Through this internship experience, students learned about diseases that greatly affect the Bronx, and perhaps more importantly, how and why it is important to prevent them. This knowledge allowed the students to create incredible social media campaigns to spread awareness, but also to be more cautious of their own habits and prevent themselves from getting these diseases. Prevention starts with education!

Mr. Robinson, a finance and D7 W!SE instructor at MS/HS223, expressed the growth he has seen in the students since they started the program. “There were some young people who didn't necessarily think they were able to do this, they didn't have confidence in themselves or their ability to present, but they really did an amazing job today. I believe that it will carry on moving forward in the rest of their classes.” He highlights the benefits of this program beyond the information the students learned about common diseases in the Bronx. The students also honed in their soft skills and built habits that will help them in school.

Lisbeth Turbides Baez and Ariana Rianos, 2 Arete ISP Interns who attended the event, offered their perspectives on the program as mentors and observers of the students’ work. Ariana said, “When I saw how all the students were working together, I knew I would have loved working with my classmates and being able to be proud of our project. I would have enjoyed learning about these diseases and being able to help others be aware.” Lisbeth echoed this sentiment, “I would have loved to experience something like this while I was in middle school. A lot of the skills these students develop are skills that I developed in highschool.”

The D7 W!SE Program has been incredibly transformative for the students who participated. The students learned about common diseases in the Bronx, ways to prevent and spread awareness of them, Canva skills, teamwork skills, financial literacy, and so much more. As the students continue their academic journeys, they will be able to harness these skills and advance their learning.