Credit goes to the legislators who pushed this forward. This is a rare bipartisan win and a reflection of something simple: It\u2019s the right move for students and for the long-term financial health of our communities. As someone who has spent the last several years working alongside schools to bring personal finance into the classroom, I\u2019ve seen firsthand how transformative this learning can be for students.<\/p>\n
Well before this mandate, my organization, Philadelphia Financial Scholars,<\/a> had been doing this work. Over the past five years, we\u2019ve partnered with high schools across Philadelphia to train 156 teachers to lead personal finance courses, reaching thousands of students each year. Teachers, often coming from backgrounds like math, social studies, or business, participate in focused summer training and receive ongoing support throughout the school year. In most schools, that translates to one or two trained teachers reaching 60 to 70 students each year. When that structure is in place, we see strong gains in student knowledge and meaningful shifts in behavior.<\/p>\n The PA Department of Education website<\/a> says personal finance means \u201cthe fundamentals of personal finance, income, spending, saving and investing, risk and insurance, and credit, with a goal of developing individuals who can manage their personal finances.\u201d<\/p>\n As a leader of an organization helping train teachers to lead personal finance classes, I can tell you this still is a very broad definition. In real life, this means helping students navigate decisions they\u2019ll face almost immediately: what taxes come out of their paycheck and why, how to use a credit card, evaluate a loan, buy a car, avoid scams, and start building financial stability.<\/p>\n Students taught by teachers who\u2019ve gone through Philadelphia Financial Scholars (PFS) program saw their financial knowledge increase by more than 50 percent over a single semester. And, importantly, students are going home and talking with their families about budgeting, saving, investing, and credit for the first time. In fact, we got so many requests from families wanting to learn more that PFS now runs 6-week personal finance workshops for parents.<\/p>\n But in talking with school leaders across the city, there\u2019s also a clear and consistent reality: Without training 70 more Philadelphia teachers over the coming summer, and without creating time in the school day to teach personal finance (or designating funding to the program), implementing this mandate citywide will be difficult. There currently aren\u2019t enough teachers who know about finance, students have no time in their schedules to learn about finance, and, importantly, there\u2019s no money for this new finance requirement.<\/p>\n So what will it take to get this right? <\/p>\n First, funding. This is an unfunded mandate, which means schools are being asked to implement something important without dedicated resources. This year, PFS is spending $129 per student on its programming. That may seem like a lot \u2014 Philadelphia has 11,000 public high school graduates each year \u2014 but you have to weigh that against the overall $4.6 billion annual school budget. And remember, once teachers are trained to deliver this content, that capacity stays in the building and continues to benefit students year after year.<\/p>\n Second, we have to make this realistic for teachers. Most teachers were not trained to teach personal finance, and in many cases, they\u2019re learning the content alongside their students. Schools need to identify who owns the course and then invest in getting those teachers the knowledge and confidence to do it well.<\/p>\n Just as important as who teaches the course is how it\u2019s taught. This cannot be a textbook-driven class. Teachers are most effective when they use activities and simulations that make the learning real.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what makes the learning stick. Not memorizing terms but experiencing the consequences of financial decisions before they have to make them in real life.<\/p>\n For example, many students contribute to household income or help manage bills at home. Many will enter the workforce immediately after graduation and already understand the pressure of living paycheck to paycheck. In class, they get to practice managing a budget that barely works and then watch it fall apart when the whammy expenses hit, like a flat tire. In another lesson, students become the lenders, trying to convince someone to take on a high-interest loan for a car that isn\u2019t worth the price. That\u2019s what makes the learning stick. Not memorizing terms but experiencing the consequences of financial decisions before they have to make them in real life.<\/p>\n When that happens, magic happens in the classroom. We hear it all the time. One teacher called it a \u201ccareer-saving\u201d class because of how engaged his students were. Across our program, students rate the course highly and consistently say they would recommend it to a friend. It\u2019s practical, it\u2019s relevant, and it works.<\/p>\n Finally, personal finance education has to fit into the school day in a way that works for students. That means being thoughtful about how this course is scheduled. I feel strongly that this needs to be in person, not online. We learned that during COVID. Students don\u2019t build real understanding or confidence that way. If a lesson is treated as an afterthought, students will treat it that way too. Additionally, research shows that financial education is most effective when students are closer to making real financial decisions, typically in 11th and 12th grade.<\/a><\/p>\n When these pieces come together, we\u2019ve seen what\u2019s possible. Students engage. They apply what they\u2019re learning. They bring it home. And over time, it changes how they think about money and what\u2019s possible for their future.<\/p>\n The policy is in place. Now the work is making sure it delivers real impact for the students who need it most.<\/p>\n<\/a>Philadelphia Financial Scholars at work. Courtesy of Rashid Marcel Photography. What will students learn? <\/p>\n