LYNN — In an effort to broaden its curriculum teaching students about financial planning and decision-making, the school district will expand its financial literacy courses at Lynn English, Lynn Classical, and Lynn Tech.
In the fall, Lynn Public Schools will offer a Personal Finance course through its history and social studies department, and continue to offer its Financial Algebra course through its math department.
According to LPS Assistant Director of Curriculum Kristen Tabacco, the curriculum expansion came in response to growing student demand to learn budgeting and wise financial decision-making. She said responses from a survey sent out to high-school students in Lynn showed “huge student support” for financial literacy courses.
Tabacco said that the district hopes to teach teenagers the basics of spending money responsibly. She noted that many of the students are working and making their first financial decisions, such as whether to go to college.
“Expanding access to financial literacy as part of a regular curriculum will definitely be a game changer,” Tabacco said. “You’re either setting yourself up for a life of debt or for great financial success depending on what knowledge you’re able to gain while you’re young.”
Data from the U.S. Census Bureau reports that more than 35% of Lynn’s population was born outside of the country. Tabacco said she believes ramping up the district’s financial literacy curriculum will particularly benefit Lynn’s first- and second-generation immigrants.
“For the large number of immigrants who are new to our country, it’s sometimes a different financial system than their home country… most of the time, they have to learn that on their own, so I think it’s really important that we teach them how the American banking system works, how loans work, interest rates,” Tabacco said. “We want to teach them the benefits of taking out loans or perhaps going into the military, going to school or perhaps empowering them to decide whether they want to do a trade, which is often a very lucrative career path.”
In addition to the district expanding its financial literacy curriculum, LPS was recently awarded $6,900 in Financial Education Innovation Fund Grant funding from the state treasurer’s Office of Economic Empowerment.
The funds will be used to host a Credit for Life Fair in the fall. At the fair, students will play a mock “game of life,” in which they make a career choice and then navigate the expenses, debts, and salaries that come with adulthood.
“Expanding access to personal finance education for students has long been a goal of many of the faculty and staff at the Lynn Public Schools, and we are lucky to have an administration that supports this kind of expansion of course offerings that will make a real impact on students’ abilities to thrive economically in their futures,” Tabacco said. “The Credit for Life Fairs promise to be a popular and profound experience for our students.”
