• Several teachers recently were recognized for their participation in the Nebraska Personal Finance Institute (Grand Island Independent):

Debra Stroh of Gibbon High School, Ann Purdy and Diane Rouzee of Grand Island Northwest High School, Joyce Sadd of Hastings Senior High School and Philip Zlomke of Westridge Middle School in Grand Island participated in the Nebraska Personal Finance Institute at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Business July 10 through 12 in Lincoln.

• Graduates of financial literacy program in Cranston (RI) schools recognized (Cranston Herald): http://cranstononline.com/stories/graduates-of-inaugural-financial-literacy-program-at-cranston-high-schools-celebrated,135364

Graduates of the inaugural BlumShapiro $eeds for $uccess Financial Literacy Program at both Cranston East and West were honored at an awards ceremony recently held at Cranston West High School.

• Youth camp in Detroit provides personal finance education to 140 youth (Detroit News)

Money Matters for Youth, which Perry-Mason founded in 1996, holds the annual camp plus year-round events on Saturdays where she visits schools to teach students how businesses operate. "The kids are learning about stocks and getting an internship at Kresge. I hope they see Kresge and want to work here," Perry-Mason said. "I love what they do here. It all ties into the idea that you’ve never met a poor giver. The more they give, the more they grow." Perry-Mason said she was moved to found the organization after noticing a lack of opportunities for minority students to learn about personal and corporate finance.

• Loyola Marymount University (California) students provide financial education boot camp to Southern California middle and high school students (ABC 7):

Students majoring in business at Loyola Marymount University wish finances, banking, debt and retirement were taught in-depth to Southern California middle school and high school students, so they have launched their own Financial Literacy Boot Camp for teens.

• What should Americans know before graduating from high school? Marketwatch weighs in using NGPF data. 

U.S. schools rarely incorporate personal finance into their curriculum. Only 16.4% of the 13 million high school students across the country in 2017 were required to take a personal-finance course to graduate, according to Next Gen Personal Finance. When the five states that mandate a personal finance course are eliminated, that figure drops to 8.6%.

• South Dakota now has new graduation requirements with a focus on college and career-readiness (Rapid City Journal):

Currently and under the proposal, South Dakota high school students need 22 units (basically classes). The proposed credit breakdown for a base diploma is also the same as the current: 4 units in English, 3 in Math, 3 in Science, 3 in Social Studies, 1 in Fine Arts, 1 in Approved CTE (Career/Technical Education) or World Language or Capstone, and .5 units in Phy-Ed, Health, and Personal Finance or Economics. Students also need 5.5 units of electives.

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.