County schools teach students dollars and sense
By Jennifer M. Drummond CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Middle and high school students like Zach Middleton are learning money management basics through the school system's Personal Financial Literacy Program.

Most middle and high school students may already know how to spend money, but thanks to the school system's Personal Financial Literacy Program, they are now learning how to do so wisely.

County schools started the program last year in response to the passage of legislation in 2005, requiring all middle and high schools in Virginia to teach students economics and offer instruction in various financial areas. The legislation also called for the Virginia Department of Education to come up with a list of topics and objectives for economic education and financial literacy.

"The program was piloted in the spring of 2005 and [by] July 2006 it was in full swing. We teach life skills that have to do with money matters and prepare students for life after high school, after they leave the nest," said Gayle Hines, CCPS' instructional specialist of history and social sciences.

The program correlates with the SOL tests and is typically taught as a nine-week unit, covered mostly during seniors' government classes within the History and Social Sciences Department. The Personal Financial Literacy Program is also sometimes taught within the Mathematics Department or the Career and Technical Education (Business) Department.

"Regarding the middle school grades, they receive parts of financial information in their civic classes or math classes, for example," said Hines.

There are no statistics on the Personal Financial Literacy Program, but as far as the teachers are concerned, the program is successful, said Hines.

"The way that the curriculum is set up, it is very good. We cover all aspects of financial education, credit, debt, insurance, loans, cell phone contracts, paying for college, taxes, saving, consumer rights, as well as the responsibilities. I concentrate on information literacy as far as where to go to get the information you need," said Ed Bosha, lead government teacher at James River High School.

In addition, there is flexibility within each school as to how the program is taught. "At James River, we use a free text and another small book that is available online from the Hartford Insurance Company called 'The Playbook for Life.' It covers insurance and a lot of other topics the students need to know. The parents have been excited about the whole thing," said Bosha. "It is not a cookie cutter process when you are teaching financial literacy."

In a 2006 financial literacy survey conducted by the Jumpstart Coalition, the average Virginia student answered only 55 percent of the questions correctly. Although this is higher than the 52.4 percent national average, it is still a failing grade, said Tina Lambert, chair of the board of the Virginia Jumpstart Coalition, a nonprofit organization which aims to educate people about money management. Lambert said the survey is done every two years, and the next scores will be released in April next year.

"The financial literacy movement was underway long before the Senate bill, and now that there is a bill, it has really gained momentum," she said.

Bosha said one of the main points students learn from the program is that "they are in control of their money situation."