Two High School Teachers Receive Wisconsin Financial Literacy Award

Two Menomonee Falls teachers were recognized by the governor Thursday for their creation of educational program based on income taxes.  

Sara Burling and Sara Kiefer, business department teachers at the Menomonee Falls High School, received a 2011 Wisconsin Financial Literacy Award for their creation of "Tax Day" program. The program involves business class students learning about how to prepare income tax returns.  

The students then served as “tax advisers” and, with the assistance of the alumni CPAs, helped their peers complete their individual tax return forms.

“The recipients of the Wisconsin Financial Literacy Award are helping Wisconsinites of all ages improve their personal finance skills in our schools, in the workplace and in communities across the state,” Governor Scott Walker said in a statement.  

Tax Day will continue in February. The project also helped the school’s Business Department forge a strong relationship with the alumni CPAs, many of whom have indicated they are interested in participating in other projects undertaken by the department, according to the statement. 

“These citizen leaders equip students, parents, peers and consumers with the necessary tools to make informed decisions about their own money, which improves individual quality of life, as well as the Wisconsin economy,” he added. 

In March last year, the pair of teachers were awarded a 2011 Accounting Careers Awareness Grant in the amount of $1,503 from the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants Educational Foundation, Inc.