Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Think back. How did you learn about money and finances? Did those who supported your learning include family, friends, and others in the community? We can now continue to add teachers to the mix through the passage of Act 60, which requires students to earn one-half credit of personal financial literacy to graduate. Act 60 is one way to equip and empower students to make informed financial decisions, leading to stronger communities and economies. Interestingly, the passing of Act 60 did not include any implementation funding, so you might wonder what implementation will look like. Be assured: We are not without resources, but all of us will need to pull together to create a smooth roll-out. And good news: No school is starting from scratch.
Centering Teacher Voice
More than 230 Wisconsin high schools already have a stand-alone personal financial literacy (PFL) course, and additional schools have offered it as an elective before the passage of Act 60. Questions sometimes come up regarding which licensed teachers can teach the course. As there is no personal financial literacy teacher license, if the district adopted the Wisconsin Standards for Personal Financial Literacy and the course is built using these standards, then teachers holding licenses to teach social studies1, family and consumer sciences, or business and information technology are qualified to teach PFL because of the connection between their standards.
For schools that do not have staff licensed to teach PFL, the PFL FAQ offers more licensing options. The key is to lift teacher-to-teacher expertise and provide the professional development to make it happen. For example, Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) is offering stipends of $500 to the first 250 educators who earn 20 hours of NGPF PD. The more people are thinking about PFL, the more students are learning.
Partnering for Good
Thanks to a significant private gift, NGPF has joined DPI to provide two years of limited funding for a PFL Statewide Coordinator, Marti Diaz, a PFL Educator At-Large, Sarah Campbell, and 13 PFL Educator Fellows. The statewide coordinator will work with the designated PFL education consultants to develop and prioritize the Fellows’ work.
Fellows will serve as ambassadors for centering teacher-to-teacher support for implementing Act 60. Fellows will work to develop a culture that values creativity, cooperation, and success, and to empower everyone to contribute to shared objectives. Specifics are in development and will be shared as they become available.
Collective Resources
No matter how far your school has come in preparing for Act 60, you can start today to access resources. Be sure to check out the Wisconsin Standards for Personal Financial Literacy to lay the foundation. Then, look into some of these resources:
- Gap Analysis Tool – Use this to pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of your current PFL curriculum.
- PFL curriculum resources – Choose from among the best educational and curriculum resources available today.
- The PFL WISELearn Resources group – This archive has more than 140 curated resources, and the collection is growing! Go to the link, join the group, and watch as your curriculum options expand!
- Off to a Strong Start in Financial Literacy – Learn from a seasoned PFL educator about how to make the PFL classroom engaging.
If you have questions about implementing Act 60 or PFL in general, email [email protected] and join in the conversation on the PFL listserv anytime!
1 This includes the new social studies license (2700) and social studies licenses prior to the repeal and recreation of PI 34 in 2018 (1710 - economics, 1701 – Broadfield social studies, and 1700 – social studies).