The Lancaster High School Academy of Finance can add another notch in their belt, earning the Sanford I. Weill Award from NAF, which oversees academies across the country. NAF cited the school’s record of providing students with hands-on learning experiences and paid internships with local financial businesses.
Scott Dixon, who is the finance academy director, said the award speaks volumes about the bond the academy, high school, and district have with the Lancaster community. “Our business, community and alumni partnership has long recognized that providing our students with meaningful career-based opportunities is the key to success and sustaining our network,” Dixon said. “Earning this award validates our efforts and motivates us to work even harder.”
Lancaster High School is home to several academies, small learning communities that focus on a certain subject; however, their Academy of Finance is the one making waves largely because of its reputation for immersing students in the fields of accounting, banking, insurance, finance, and stock markets. Finance students are required to take a paid summer internship in the finance field between their junior and senior years.
The academy is part of the national NAF network of education, business, and community leaders who work together to ensure high school students are college, career, and future ready.
“Lancaster High School, Academy of Finance has done exceptional work when it comes to preparing students for future success,” said NAF CEO Lisa Dughi. “NAF applauds them for achieving this incredible milestone and maximizing opportunities for the next generation of leaders.
Coming out of a pandemic, the Lancaster High School’s Academy of Finance found new ways to prepare students for the world of work by helping them develop essential skill sets for successful interviews on Zoom, career coaching and mentoring sessions, job fairs and worksite tours. The academy has also worked to ensure that students and employers give and receive feedback to better understand the process and how it relates to the bigger picture.
That’s not all. Many of the academy’s advisory members are business leaders in the community who have helped students get paid internships and valuable connections with places like Good Neighbors Credit Union in Erie County, local banks, financial institutions and financial planners.
While students in the AOF receive the preparation and training they need to be financially sound, they also can apply the knowledge and best practices to any field they may choose to pursue after high school.
Awards aren’t new to Lancaster High School. The Academy of Finance received the Aldo Papone award for excellence from NAF in 2010 and is one of only four academies nationwide to have achieved NAF Katherine Blasik Distinguished quality level for the past 13 years.
Robert Morgan Educational Center’s, Academy of Hospitality & Tourism in Miami also earned the prestigious Weill Award.