Teachers Learn Asynchronously and Earn 3 Credits
Vermont Business Magazine Middle and high school educators in Vermont can increase their financial literacy and personal finance teaching skills by attending a free, online, asynchronous graduate level course that will be available for 20 participants from March 3 through April 25.
Funding for the course is again being provided by Northfield Savings Bank Foundation.
“Teachers who complete the training will have the confidence, skills and curriculum tools to be successful personal finance educators,” says John Pelletier, director of the Center for Financial Literacy, which is offering the course through its Financial Literacy Academy.
Pelletier says the three-credit financial literacy course will cover saving and investing, credit reports and scores, credit cards and debt, managing risk, income and careers.
He notes that there is tremendous national momentum in personal finance education, as the Center projects that 26 states (not including Vermont) will have a standalone personal finance course graduation requirement for public high school students by 2031 (this is an increase from the 23 states identified in the Center’s December 2023 High School Report Card).
“That means that 57 per cent of public high school graduates in our nation will have taken this course as a graduation mandate in the class 2031,” Pelletier says. “This is a big change from when I started the Center in 2010. At that time, only Utah and Missouri had this requirement.”
“This momentum is not surprising,” said Pelletier. “In a national poll of adults, 88% said their state should require a semester- or year-long financial education course for graduation.” Those results are nearly identical to those of a poll of Vermont adults that the Center released in 2022. That poll indicated that more than nine out of ten Vermont residents believe that personal finance education is an important subject that should be taught in high school.
“Vermont implemented the JumpStart National Standards on K-12 Personal Finance Education a few years ago, so we have a tested standard for what every Vermont student should know about personal finance by kindergarten, 4th, 8th and 12th grades,” notes Pelletier. “Qualified personal finance teachers are needed to meet these standards.”
“Research by Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) indicates that 29% of Vermont high school students attend schools that require a standalone course in personal finance graduation requirement” stated Pelletier. The NGPF research notes that the following 13 Vermont high schools have or are in the process of implementing this requirement:
- Bellows Free Academy St. Albans;
- Bellows Free Academy Fairfax;
- Lamoille Union High School;
- Milton Senior High School;
- Missisquoi Valley Union High School;
- Mount Abraham Union High School:
- Otter Valley Union High School
- Richford Junior/Senior High School;
- South Burlington High School;
- Spaulding Union High School;
- U-32 Middle & High School;
- Vergennes Union High School; and
- Winooski High School
More than 200 Vermont educators have already taken this course, which has been recognized by the Obama White House, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and US Dept. of Treasury.
Twenty scholarships are available to Vermont educators only. You can apply here. The deadline to apply is Feb. 20, and you will be notified of your status by Feb. 25. Scholarships will be awarded on a rolling admissions basis. For registration questions contact: [email protected].
The three-credit course is a continuation of the Champlain Financial Literacy Academy’s nationally recognized educator training program conducted in-person from 2011-2019 for nearly 400 educators.
Champlain College, founded in 1878, is a small, not-for-profit, private college in Burlington, Vermont, with additional campuses in Montreal, Canada, and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain offers a traditional undergraduate experience and more than 60 online undergraduate and graduate degree programs. certificates, and stackable credentials in high-demand fields. Champlain’s distinctive, career-driven approach to higher education embodies the notion that true learning occurs when information and experience come together to create knowledge.
Champlain College Center for Financial Literacy is committed to improving the personal finance knowledge of our nation’s students and adults, so more Americans make sound decisions about spending, credit, debt, investments, and complex financial situations such as buying a home and saving for retirement. Center director John Pelletier was formerly chief operating officer and chief legal officer at some of the largest asset management firms in the U.S. and he has served in both national and state leadership positions related to personal finance education.
Northfield Savings Bank Foundation supports Vermont-based efforts focused around improving residents' well-being and self-sufficiency in areas such as financial literacy, education and at-risk youth. When considering an area of need or partnership, NSBF is deliberate, focused and thorough in its assessment to ensure significant results can be achieved given the amount of time and money to be invested.
Source: Champlain College. 1.8.2024.
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