From Mount Si High School
High school is a period of time that often sits on either end of the spectrum; it is either the best time of their lives or the worst. For many students who want to make it the best time of their lives, admitting to having financial difficulties is like painting a target of humiliation to their forehead. Students want to be able to shop in the same types of stores, eat the same types of food, and hang out on the weekends just like all their other financially stable friends. Most importantly, for these students who want the best high school experience, it is about being involved in all school activities such as games, dances, and clubs without anyone knowing how difficult it is to pay for the tickets to the dance or hotdog during the football game.
For one particular student, finances were a bit tight this year. They are from a single parent household where the parent was injured on their job site. The injury required surgery and many months of recovery time. Though there was some compensation during the injured time, it was not what the family was used to. At the beginning of the year, students are asked to take care of all their fees - for classes, activities, yearbooks, pictures, etc. Add traffic safety to the picture and fees can be well over $300. For families experiencing financial difficulties, $300 can be daunting. Also, for a student who wants to fit in and be like the rest, asking for help to pay for even part of the fees can be difficult. This student's fees were not anywhere close to the $300 range, it was average for the student population but still stretching the family's resources. Admitting to financial hardship can become socially isolating. For some students that risk is not worth it. For this student, paying for the cost out of pocket was easier than dealing with humiliation.
It is easy to miss these quiet students. But there are teachers and other people in the community who know of their needs. InvestED took care of the school fees and the school was able to fully refund the family, while protecting the identity of this student. It was not revealed to the school that this student was struggling. This could have been the case of the quiet student shouldering the financial burdens on their own. This could have been the student who is happy on the outside to be involved in school but sad and struggling on the inside. As a teenager in high school, who needs that extra burden? With the help of funds from InvestED, this student can enjoy being involved without the additional stress.