Financial Literacy for the Greater Good

Credit: 0.5
Grades: 9 – 12
Prerequisite: Algebra 1 (with Department Chair approval) or Geometry
Session: July 6-24, 2026
Class meeting time: Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. ED
Office Hours: 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. EDT

Teacher: O’Shayne Rankine

Course Description:
Financial Literacy will soon be a graduation requirement in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This course helps students develop the skills to make informed financial decisions, covering topics like managing debt, building and improving credit, and making smart money choices. Students will use fundamental math skills to calculate income taxes, interest rates, and balance a checkbook.

They will also gain practical knowledge about different types of bank accounts, how to open and manage them, and how to evaluate the reliability of financial institutions. The course includes reading assignments on budgeting, saving, and financial planning, which will be reinforced with writing tasks such as creating personal budgets, analyzing financial statements, and developing financial plans.

Additionally, students will engage in discussions and presentations to strengthen their reasoning and communication skills in financial and business contexts.

Microeconomics

Credit: 0.5
NCAA Approved
Grades: 10 – 12
Session: June 15 – July 3, 2026
Class meeting time: Monday-Thursday, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. EDT
Office Hours: By appointment with individual students to support students in their time zone.

Teacher: Elson Oshman Blunt

Course Description:
Economics is the study of how a society uses limited resources to produce and distribute the goods needed to live healthy and fulfilling lives. Microeconomics focuses on the decisions made by individuals and firms, covering topics such as gains from trade, supply and demand, the welfare impact of taxes, and firm costs and profits. Grounded in the school’s mission with special attention to issues of stewardship and sustainability, Westtown’s economics courses also investigate the nontraditional discipline of Ecological Economics, which probes the limits of the Earth’s resources and calls into question the basic assumption of the feasibility of ongoing growth in consumption.

Taking economics online affords students the opportunity to learn at a distance without sacrificing the collaborative quality of education central to Westtown’s classroom experience. Course materials and goals are similar to Westtown’s school-year syllabus but will be adapted and combined with traditional textbook materials (based on Greg Mankiw’s Essentials of Economics) to take advantage of online capabilities and provide the best possible learning experience. Students will watch short whiteboard-style lecture videos created exclusively for this course, navigate labs designed to guide students to understanding through constructing and applying economic concepts, and consult with student partners as needed to help each other master the material.

Online summer Microeconomics is offered biennially in even-numbered years (e.g., 2026, 2028).

Macroeconomics

Credit: 0.5
NCAA Approved
Grades: 10 – 12
Session: July 6-24, 2026
Class meeting time: Monday-Thursday, 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. EDT
Office Hours: by appointment with individual students to support students in their time zone.

Teacher: Elson Oshman Blunt

Course Description:
Economics is the study of how a society uses limited resources to produce and distribute the goods needed to live healthy and fulfilling lives. Macroeconomics focuses on the dynamics of the economy as a whole, covering topics such as inflation, growth, finance, and U.S. monetary policy. Students also complete a major research project on a topic of their choice related to economics. Grounded in the school’s mission with special attention to issues of stewardship and sustainability, Westtown’s economics courses also investigate the nontraditional discipline of Ecological Economics, which probes the limits of the Earth’s resources and calls into question the basic assumption of the feasibility of ongoing growth in consumption.

Online summer Macroeconomics is offered biennially in even-numbered years (e.g., 2026, 2028).