Bill would insert financial literacy into the classroom
North Middlesex Regional High School recently held a school fair with real-world flair, a combined effort by students, faculty and administrators.
School Superintendent Brad Morgan said that collaboration created the inaugural Credit for Life financial literacy fair for seniors.
The April 10 event gave students an opportunity to learn about a subject not covered in the classroom — the ins and outs of personal finance.
“We are so glad to be able to provide our students with an immersive education in financial literacy. It is a topic that is extremely relevant and important for these students,” said Superintendent Morgan.
Seniors Jackson Bailey, Jack Amari, and Josh Gallagher proposed the idea in December after the three students had attended a similar event at another high school.
The fair organizers received $5,350 in state funding through an FC:104 Financial Literacy Planning and Implementation Grant.
The grant program funds schools in the selection and development of materials, curriculum, professional development, and in-person or virtual learning related to financial literacy. STEM Director Kevin Cormier assisted in preparing and writing the grant, and coordinated the project.
The exercise became an extension of the students’ Civics Action Project, during which their research revealed a lack of financial literacy among students statewide.
At the fair, students were first assigned a monthly income. Then they visited stations hosted by local banks and businesses, and made financial decisions based on their income. Topics covered included insurance, transportation, savings and retirement, career counseling, luxuries, cell phone plans and education.
And due to the fair’s success, organizers have decided to make this an annual event.
We applaud the work of the students, faculty and administrators who put this program together, and for tailoring it to seniors who’ll soon be making some important financial decisions, be it paying for college or some other life choice.
But instead of doing it just once annually in April, which just happens to be National Financial Literacy Month, shouldn’t this subject be taught in the state’s public high schools throughout the school year?
We’re not alone in that view. A prominent state official said as much in a recent letter to the editor on the newspaper’s Opinion Page.
Alayna Van Tassel, Deputy State Treasurer and Executive Director of the Office of Economic Empowerment, stated requiring schools to offer personal financial literacy courses would provide a crucial step in students’ achievement of economic stability and security throughout their lives.
It would give every student, regardless of their background, race, or income level, an equal opportunity to thrive and prosper.
She also noted our state’s lack of a school curriculum devoted to financial literacy by pointing out that Massachusetts isn’t one of the 25 states that currently guarantee this type of education.
In fact, in the Champlain College 2023 National Report Card on High School financial literacy, Massachusetts earned the dubious distinction of being one of just five states receiving an “F” grade. This means that we have virtually no requirements for PFL in high school.
That’s a deficiency that we have also previously stated, because Massachusetts has flunked its emphasis on financial literacy on this particular report card since at least 2017.
In summary, Ms. Van Tassel details the obvious advantages of understanding the financial aspects that intersect with our daily lives as we grow into adulthood.
Students who receive this education are more likely to save, budget, invest, and increase their credit scores.
The longer we wait to implement, the longer it will be until our state’s young people see the benefits. Massachusetts has always been a leader in education, innovation, and social progress. But when it comes to financial education, we are woefully behind.
She concluded by saying that’s unacceptable and needs to change.
A bill currently before the Legislature would do much of what the deputy state treasurer proposed.
That legislation, titled “An Act relative to personal financial literacy,” filed by state
Rep. Ryan Hamilton last fall, would provide students with a proper personal-finance education before entering college and adulthood.
The bill would establish a Financial Literacy Trust Fund to be administered by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The fund would focus on underserved communities where students likely lack basic financial literacy, and be used for professional development training, the purchase and use of financial education resources, and collaboration with higher education institutions.
“Far too many of our young people are thrust into life after high school with limited education on basic financial skills and habits,” Rep. Hamilton, a Methuen Democrat, said in a Jan. 18 statement. “… I want Massachusetts to lead on all things education — including on financial literacy — where we are currently falling behind.”
His bill has since been redrafted into Senate bill s2665, which reported favorably out of the Education Committee earlier this month and is now before the Ways and Means Committee.
We urge our local State House delegations to get behind this bill, and to convince their other colleagues of the need for this kind of common-sense education to be taught in our public schools.