S P o T L I G H T
tAxING CLASSES
magnet School Teaches international Finance and Business
I
magine filling out your one of nine magnet schools around san as a classroom to provide business experience.
parents’ or neighbors’ antonio, sidney lanier caters to students students also manage a restaurant as well as
tax returns and filing them electronically with interested in international banking, marketing, several shops—beauty, auto and body repair,
the Internal revenue service. That’s what and entrepreneurship. and print—that serve the community.
sophomores do every year at the sidney lanier operating as a school within a school, some students will go on to operate their
International Banking and Business magnet the magnet program started in 1996 to help own businesses. others attend college and
High school in san antonio. These students students learn from the trend toward a global then begin careers in areas as varied as public
help people in the community whose income market economy. They take business classes relations and human resources.
qualifies them for free service. and rigorous academic subjects such as english “I am proud of these students,” says
“we are the only high school in Texas that and social studies. ramirez, who adds that the sidney lanier
does this,” magnet coordinator Blanca ramirez nearly 270 students out of 1,500 attending magnet program reaches students in ways
declares proudly. the inner-city high school are part of the traditional programs can’t.
sidney lanier teachers trained by the Irs international banking and business program. “If you have a smaller community,” she says,
show the accounting students how to prepare They enhance their studies with senior year job “you can nurture the students. These students
tax returns, but the teachers don’t do the actual shadowing and internships. know someone cares about them. I think that’s
processing—they just supervise. an on-site financial service center doubles why the program has been successful.”
important not to cut academic corners in focusing Electives such as Microsoft Word and Excel extremely
high school if you want to excel in business Courses such as Accounting, Keyboarding, helpful. “You’ve got to be frugal when you’re
studies in college. Business Computer Information Systems, starting a company, so people need to be
Miller says she avoided rigorous math and Professional Selling are offered as self-sufficient in basic skill sets. With the
classes in high school, and paid the price career electives by many Texas schools, and advent of word processing and the Internet,
when she applied to colleges. “I took math they are classes that can help begin your people are expected to do a lot of their
classes like Consumer Math instead of preparation for a business career. own work.”
Algebra II or Advanced Math,” she explains, Think of the electives as the chance to
“which you really need for the college focus on your job options. The electives get Certified
placement tests. I had to take remedial differ for each of the six business career In some cases, you can begin work toward
math in college, and I had to pay for it even programs of study (see “Program Profiles” certification in particular skills even while
though I didn’t get college credit for it.” on opposite page). Each program consists of in high school. Working toward Microsoft
different electives designed to begin your Office Specialist certification, Internet
Accounting for Everyone preparation for those particular careers. and Computing Core certification, or
Ron Zimmerman, chief executive officer of For example, an 11th grader following Office Proficiency Assessment and
the Houston pharmaceutical company PLx the Management program of study could Certification, for example, makes you
Pharma, has more than 30 years’ experience take a Business Law course, while another more employable now and builds the
in investment banking and startup following the Administrative & Information foundation for later advancement.
management in a variety of international Support program of study might opt for
firms. He says math is important in Word Processing.
management no matter what the industry.
“I strongly suggest anybody interested software savvy
in any kind of business take accounting Business Computer Information Systems
classes,” Zimmerman says. “I’d actually has become one of the most popular
advise the classes for any career. Most electives because it offers the technical
people go to work in a corporate training to use business software.
environment. Pretty much everyone In a startup situation, Zimmerman says,
is involved in budgets.” he finds mastery of basic software programs
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