Nearly 650 recent Clarke County School District graduates are set to take full control of their investment portfolios after successful completion of the Gifted Savings financial literacy education program, and the district is already looking ahead to capitalize on the momentum for next year — with the community’s support — to equip even more high school seniors with the tools for a bright financial future as they prepare to enter adulthood.

The Gifted Savings program provides each high school student who is on track to graduate with a real $1,000 investment portfolio at the beginning of their senior year that they track in real-time, gaining hands-on experience with financial markets. Full ownership of the portfolio transfers to students once they have turned 18 and have successfully completed all of their required online learning modules and paperwork. In August 2025, CCSD became the first in the nation to implement the Gifted Savings financial literacy education program districtwide with the Class of 2026 at Cedar Shoals, Clarke Central, and Classic City high schools as the inaugural graduating class. 

“We finished our inaugural year with Gifted Savings by sending hundreds of students into the world with a nest egg and the knowledge necessary to make that nest egg work for them,” said Dr. Jennifer Scott, CCSD Superintendent. “Of course, we are also looking forward to welcoming our next group of seniors to this elite club of student investors when we return to school in August.”

At the start of each school year, once parents/guardians provide written and signed permission for their student to participate in Gifted Savings, seniors receive a predetermined portfolio of assets, with an initial value of $1,000, to monitor and learn from throughout the year. Students complete weekly online lessons with the curriculum divided into four main sections:

• An introduction to the portfolio and the establishment of a financial mindset

• Building a financial toolkit, learning more about banking and investment accounts, setting financial goals, and gaining a better understanding of banking and investment accounts

• Developing a long-term investment identity and a deeper understanding of investments and why they go up and down

• Preparing and making an informed decision of what to do with their portfolio when they gain full ownership of it.

Of the Class of 2026 seniors who initially started the program, 91% successfully completed all modules and now have access to reinvest their funds in a brokerage account or take a cash payout. 

The Gifted Savings program was funded in its first year at CCSD through a $1.2 million gift, and the district is now raising money to continue funding it for 2027 and future years so that all graduates are equipped with a powerful financial foundation as they transition into adulthood. A private donor has pledged a dollar-for-dollar match — up to $400,000 — to fully fund portfolios for the Class of 2027. To date, $150,000 has been raised and matched with donations from private donors as well as through the district’s Dining 4 Dividends campaign, a community event on April 30 where more than a dozen participating Athens eating establishments contributed a portion of their sales to the Gifted Savings CCSD fund.

Community members may make a tax-deductible contribution to the Gifted Savings CCSD fund at the Athens Area Community Foundation at bit.ly/GSCCSD.