Pilot program will let Detroit students offer free tax help
Dozens of Detroit high school students have become certified tax preparers and will offer free help to their neighbors starting Monday.
About 40 students at Southeastern and Martin Luther King Jr. high schools have become IRS-certified tax preparers, according to The Detroit News.
They'll offer the free help until April 2 with several weeknight sessions at each high school as part of a pilot program with the district, Troy-based Flagstar Bank and the Accounting Aid Society. A teacher will oversee the students' tax work.
King student Nadia Lawrence is one of tax preparers. It took her four weeks to earn her certificate.
"There are a lot of people out here who are financially illiterate," she said. “I'm a student and I get to teach my parents and other adults how to become financially literate. That's a huge deal for me.”
Teachers say it not only helps the communities but can enhance student resumes.
The program is modeled after one in Waco, Texas.