PORTSMOUTH — Arthur Lard, a teacher at Portsmouth High School (PHS), graced the February 2016 cover of the Ohio Schools magazine, a publication of the Ohio Education Association (OEA) for his teaching of financial literacy at Portsmouth Trojan Print Shop classes at the high school.
Lard has been teaching at PHS for 25 years, and has been teaching financial literacy for six year, as well as teaching and the Portsmouth Trojan Print Shop class. He said gaining recognition for his classes, and being featured in the magazine was a wonderful experience for not only himself, but most importantly his students.
“I think it was wonderful, and as far as my students, they really enjoyed it too,” Lard said. “It is nice to get recognized for something that you are doing well. “A lot of times it goes unknown, but they are putting forth the effort, and they are doing a very good job.”
Recognition for Lard’s teaching of financial literacy came through his attending the OEA meetings.
“I met with the President of the Ohio Education Association because I attend some of the meetings, and she has seen some of the things that we’ve done as a class for the Southern Ohio Education Association,” he said. “I was talking to her at one of the meetings about my class, and she said, man that would be a great story. The next thing I knew a lady was calling me from the magazine wanting to do a feature based upon what she’d heard from the president.”
Teaching financial literacy is to equip students to be knowledgeable about money matters for the future.
“Last year we received recognition for one of the schools in the area that is taking part in the financial literacy initiative to help students become what they call, “fiscally fit,” he said. “The purpose of it is to provide students with knowledge so that they will know what is going on, and by the time they graduate they will not make the same mistakes that their parents have made with money. So by taking the class they will have a better understanding of what’s going on.”
Lard has worked in conjunction with American Savings Bank in Portsmouth to offer his students a financial literacy course called Everfi. Lard received an award by the State of Ohio for teaching financial literacy in the classroom.
“For three years I have worked with American Savings Bank to do a program called Everfi and it has nine modules, and it takes the kids through banking, savings, investing, preparing for college, getting a car, paying for college, and then saving money for the future and buying their first house,” he said. “It is like a computer program that simulates, and let’s them make right and wrong choices, and then the outcome of those choices without having to go through life and actually making them, and getting punished for it.”
Lard was also recognized by the Portsmouth City School District (PCSD) on March 3, at the Educational Forum for being featured in the Ohio Schools magazine. PHS Principal Amy Hughes both congratulated Lard at the Forum, holding up a copy of the magazine for group to see.
“I want to say a congratulations to Mr. Lard. Every teacher who is a part of the Teacher’s Union in Ohio received this, and Mr. Lard was on the front cover,” Hughes said. “They came and did an article on him, his financial literacy class, and his print shop class, and I’ve asked him to come and tell you guys a little bit about this article just in case you didn’t receive this magazine.”
Two things that make Lard happy are being part of PCSD, and offering the programs.
“I am just so happy to be a part of Portsmouth City Schools, and to be able to offer the program that we offer,” Lard said.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
