Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin and Citigroup Chairman Sanford I. Weill on Monday announced a partnership between Treasury and the National Academy Foundation (NAF) at Woodrow Wilson Senior High School in Washington, D.C. Wilson’s Academy of Finance will be the first academy to benefit from the new partnership.
Under the partnership agreement, Treasury will support NAF academies at public schools by providing internships to academy students. Treasury will coordinate the internships through its Partnership in Education (PIE) Program, which began in 1995. Treasury will also work with NAF through its bureaus nationwide to prepare students for college and careers in both the private and public sectors.
“Today’s partnership with the National Academy Foundation is an important step for the Wilson Academy of Finance and we look forward to working with NAF on other similar school partnerships in the future,” Secretary Rubin said. “At Wilson and other public schools across the nation, Treasury and the NAF will provide students with the opportunity to learn skills that will prepare them for the workplace.”
NAF was established in 1989 to unite business, school and government leaders in the education of public high school students. NAF is the largest career academy program in the nation, operating nearly 300 academies in the areas of finance, travel and tourism.
“This unique public–private partnership further enhances the National Academy’s 17–year effort to promote practical financial career education and college preparation for high school students around the country,” said Sandy I. Weill, Citigroup Chairman and current NAF Chair. “Now thousands more young people will gain firsthand exposure to opportunities in both government and private business as they make important decisions about their futures.”
Rubin and Weill were joined by D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, U.S. Mint Director Philip Diehl, Woodrow Wilson High School Principal Dr. Steven Tarason, District Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, and local business and community leaders for signing of the Memorandum of Understanding.