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Endorsement Stories

Stay up to date with the latest stories about academics! From student projects to student successes, see what's going on with our academic department. 
Algebra II: Credit Card Debt Analysis

Algebra II: Credit Card Debt Analysis


“Why would the wealthiest nation on earth carry so much credit card debt?” This was the question posed to the Algebra 2 classes during the first couple of weeks of school. Students used their analytical and research skills to evaluate real-world problems in finance.

They discovered that the most common age range during which a person in the United States receives their first credit card is 18-21. They also found that typically as a person’s net worth increases, their revolving credit card debt also increases and that the average American carries nearly $8,500 in credit card debt. These were surprising findings for the classes, but perhaps the most surprising was how much carrying a credit balance really costs. 

The class set up a scenario with a person carrying $8,500 in credit card debt who wants to fully pay off the debt within five years. Using an amortization formula, the students determined the monthly payment would be approximately $230, causing the full five-year cost to be about $13,600. This amounts to more than $5,000 in interest payments. Students were amazed to see how much it costs to carry a balance! This spurred engaging discussion around why our culture tends to spend more than we make. Questions explored included: Could the cause be a lack of education? Lack of money? Lack of discipline? Some conjectured that perhaps it’s something deeper…we’ll continue this great conversation as we finish out our unit!

More Endorsement Stories

“If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it well enough yourself.” 

Mrs. Herscovici's Entrepreneurship class finished their unit on "Exploring Opportunities" by researching famous entrepreneurs. In small groups, students researched an entrepreneur of their choice and were made aware of how many times these entrepreneurs had to fail before their ideas became successful. In the midst of this research, we have been discussing the importance of being able to explain our learning. Essentially, “If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it well enough yourself.” ― Albert Einstein.

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Calculus Speed Trap

If you travel 40 miles per 60 minutes, what’s your average speed per hour, or what’s your average rate of change (the change in distance over the change in time)? Are they different? Students in AP Calculus played cops and speeders last week in class. Students had the opportunity to use real radar guns and math to try and see if they could catch their classmates speeding along Fairview.

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Humanities Alumni Update

The Humanities program honored its first class of graduating students this past May 2023 during Valor’s commencement ceremony. We want to regularly include comments from graduates to help give a sense of how the Humanities program prepared them for the next phase of their lives. For our first alumni check-in, we asked Ben Leikam to reflect on how his time in the Humanities program prepared him for college. Here are his thoughts...

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STEM Night 2023

STEM Night was a great success, as students showcased their work through capstone projects, clubs, and competitions. Over 30 projects and interactive demos were highlighted during the evening. In addition, select students received awards for their innovation, creativity, and service through STEM. 

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