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Ward is Distinguished Financial Educator
Fort Scott High School teacher Lisa Ward received a last-day-of-school surprise.
Ward, who is retiring this year, is a longtime business and finance instructor at the high school. During a faculty meeting Tuesday afternoon in the school’s commons area, Ward was honored as a 2017 Kansas Distinguished Financial Educator. Several FSHS faculty members and administrators were present for the recognition.
Just after receiving the award, Ward said she had no knowledge she was a recipient.
“What a great way to end a career,” she said.
Ward’s retirement follows a 33-year career teaching at the high school. Most recently, she taught business essentials, personal finance and business law.
According to Caley Love, director of communications for the Office of the Kansas Securities Commissioner, the office partners with the Office of the State Bank Commissioner on several financial literacy programs and initiatives. This is the second year recipients of the Kansas Distinguished Financial Educator award are being honored.
“Our offices support several organizations that provide financial literacy programming to schools and we wanted to find a way to honor those teachers who are going above and beyond to equip students with this critical life skill,” Love said in an email.
Ward was nominated and chosen as one of three 2017 Kansas Distinguished Financial Educators, Love said.
Ward said that financial literacy has been part of the Business Essentials courses for several years, and three years ago the school added a separate Personal Finance class. With Ward’s encouragement, next year the high school will require a semester of Personal Finance for all seniors because of the importance of the subject.
“The goal is that by teaching personal finance in high school, students will be able to avoid costly money mistakes in the future,” Ward said. “Students need to know that financial decisions they make today, or in the next few years, will have long-term consequences. Teaching students the basics of budgeting, saving, debt, investing and giving will encourage many of these students to build strong money habits now and in the future.”
The Kansas Distinguished Financial Educator award was not the only honor Ward received Tuesday. Ward also learned that the Kansas Senate recently passed a resolution “congratulating and commending the 2016-17 Kansas Distinguished Financial Educator Award recipients,” according to SR 1749 which was introduced and adopted Monday by the full Senate.
Ward taught business classes for 33 years, and served as sponsor of the Interact Club for 18 years, the Future Business Leaders of America club for 28 years, and as a sponsor for junior class magazine sales and student council for 33 years. She attended USD 234 schools and earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Pittsburg State University in 1978.