Business

Every year it is interesting to see which group of students will take the challenge of earning IRS certifications and committing time after school (and on Saturdays) to become part of the DHS Tax Slayers club.  Once again, the students didn't disappoint and they processed 884 tax returns and conducted 102 quality reviews. For the third year in a row the students joined the "Million Dollar Club" with a total of $1,142,493 in tax refunds that were processed and put back into the pockets of local taxpayers!  Since 2022, this program has processed in excess of $4.25 million dollars in tax refunds.

DHS has a partnership with CSET (Community Services Employment Training) and all Accounting students went through 3 weeks of tax training through the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program where they earned 3 IRS certifications for preparing tax returns for others. The VITA program, sponsored by the IRS, offers free tax help to low-income taxpayers, retirees, people with disabilities and limited English-speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns. During the months of February, March and April my classroom is a tax preparation center Monday - Thursday for a few hours after school. In March, we had our first site visit by the IRS (which went well!) and video was taken of student testimonials to use as a promotional tool to encourage other high schools to participate in the VITA program too.  And DHS can be found on the IRS website when searching for "VITA sites near me."

This year there were 23 students who participated in the VITA program that could commit to staying after school and preparing tax returns, and 17 of those students (in red font in table below) committed 25+ hours and were recognized at the April 24 school board meeting along with earning a $500 scholarship from grant money that was secured by CSET.  This has been a great partnership that allows students to learn real-life job skills and be able to give back to their community at the same time.

You might have noticed some of these students wearing their Tax Slayer jackets on campus this spring.  Be sure to congratulate them if you have them in class on a job well done.