Established in 2003, the Academy of Business and Finance offers students an overview of the business and finance world. Juniors and seniors have the chance to become student tellers in the school's branch of the Lafayette Schools' Federal Credit Union. The branch is manned by these selected tellers and is open during lunch periods for students and staff of the school. Also, all Acadiana High School parents can become credit union members by applying at the main branch on Guilbeau Road.
Business classes being offered are: Business Computer Applications, Business English, Business Law, Computerized Accounting, Desktop Publishing, Financial Math, Introduction to Business Computer Applications, Multimedia and Web Design, Principals of Business and Telecommunications.
Several projects provide students with real world skills and experience. Some of the students have been trained to fill out the IRS E-Z File tax forms, and offered their services to school employees on Saturdays in the spring.
A fashion show arranged by an alumni who now manages a local clothing store helped teach students how to dress for success. Students attended and assisted in the Tech South Conference and a student teller made a presentation in Baton Rouge at the Legislative Breakfast for the first annual Youth Financial Literacy Day.
Field trips to the Scott City Council meeting and Federal Reserve Bank in New Orleans, and job-shadowing activities with local businesses, expose students to the business world.
Academy students who have completed their junior year have a paid internship over the summer in a local business so they can see how a business operates from the inside out.
Several Academy students participate annually in a statewide stock market game for business students. THe exercise provides students with 100,000 points which they "invest" in the stock market. Through this hypothetical project, students can try their hand at playing the market. Last year, two Academy students placed second in the state.
The Acadiana High School Academy of Business and Finance is an affiliate of the National Academy Foundation.
Please call 984-2324 for more information.
