In January 2018, the State Board of Education adopted the JumpStart National Standards for Personal Finance Education. The State Board of Education recognized the multidisciplinary nature of financial literacy as these standards can be addressed within social studies, math, business, family and consumer science, as well as through flexible pathways and CTE centers. Now that the standards are adopted, it is expected that the SU/SD instruct and assess financial literacy concepts based on the standards; how that is accomplished is locally determined (Education Quality Standards 2120.5, 2123.2).
Spotlight on Equity Resources
Educational equity means that every student has access to the resources, opportunities, and educational rigor they need at the right moment in their education, whatever their race, gender/identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, language, ability, family background, or family income may be. (Adapted from CCSSO, Leading for Equity.) The Spotlight on Equity Resource below provides a list of considerations and resources for the purpose of supporting equity and access while emphasizing high-quality and culturally sustaining learning opportunities for all students.
The Importance of Financial Literacy
Financial literacy spans the continuum of education and can help prepare our students with the knowledge and skills needed to make wise economic decisions throughout their lifetime. When the Vermont Portrait of a Graduate (PoG) was developed collaboratively by over three hundred Vermont students, community members, and educators, financial Literacy was identified as a necessary attribute of a graduate. The Well-Being indicator of the PoG states: “Students have the knowledge necessary to make financially responsible decisions that are integral to their everyday lives”, including a focus on both smart financial decision making and future goals. Personal finance education helps students understand their role as independent adult consumers, fully prepared to make wise financial decisions with regard to earning, spending, and saving, as well as managing credit, debt, risk and investment for a lifetime of economic security.
State-Wide Focus on Personal Finance Education
In 2019, the AOE began a collaborative project with Champlain College’s Center for Financial Literacy, with funding provided through a grant from the Northfield Savings Bank Foundation, to improve personal finance education within Vermont. Through this collaboration, a Professional Learning Community (PLC) of sixteen K-12 content-area and special education educators from across the state was created to highlight age-appropriate personal finance resources and tools; develop sample financial literacy grade-banded K-8 and 9-12 performance indicators and Proficiency Based Graduation Requirements (PBGRs) which can be implemented in an interdisciplinary manner; identify connections between Personalized Learning Plans and financial literacy; and, provide state-wide K-12 training on how to teach and assess personal finance topics.
Proficiency-Based Graduation Hierarchy for Financial Literacy
The Financial Literacy Hierarchy recognizes the work of the previous 2019 collaboration with Champlain College’s Center for Financial Literacy and Vermont K-12 educators, as well as the inherent overlap of multiple content areas within personal finance. This exemplar Proficiency-Based Graduation Requirement (PBGR) Hierarchy supports equity by providing a cohesive and coordinated vision of student-centered learning across Vermont schools. The hierarchies serve as a foundation for the implementation of standards adopted by the Vermont State Board of Education, Local Comprehensive Assessment Systems, flexible pathways, and personalized learning plans.
Financial Literacy Jump$tart Alignment to Curriculum
Financial Literacy: Spotlight on Equity
The Financial Literacy Proficiency-Based Graduation Hierarchy has highlighted a “Spotlight on Equity” to provide a list of considerations for the purpose of providing an equity literate and socially conscious lens to the teaching and learning of personal finance. This Spotlight also serves to recognize the historic economic exclusion and marginalization of minority groups and communities. When grade-level appropriate, educators may use the topics to critically engage students in socially relevant financial literacy opportunities. Neither the enumerated considerations, nor the Spotlight on Equity Resources provided, are a complete list but rather a starting point on which to begin historically and socially relevant learning with a focus on personal finance.
For further information contact:
Martha Deiss at martha.deiss@vermont.gov or call (802) 828-6597
Kevin Feal-Staub at kevin.feal-staub@vermont.gov or call (802) 828-0054
Doug Webster at doug.webster@vermont.gov or call (802) 828-7168