For immediate release
Contact: John Pelletier
(802) 860-2744 jpelletier@champlain.edu
January 17, 2023, Burlington, Vt – More than nine out of 10 Vermont residents believe that teaching personal finance is an important subject to teach in high school. This amazing discovery was made by A Statewide survey He conducted from 541 voters this month before Public policy polling to Financial Literacy Center at Champlain College.
John Pelletier, director of the center, noted that the survey showed that 93 percent of Vermont residents agree that a personal finance course should be offered in high school. Pelletier also notes that 88 percent of adults in Vermont believe there is an urgent need for guaranteed access to a personal finance course for all Vermont high school students. However, despite these views, at present, few high school students in Vermont have guaranteed high school access to a full semester course in personal finance before graduation.
Pelletier believes this survey data will help state education policy makers, legislators, the state board of education, and the education agency make informed decisions about personal finance education in Vermont public schools.
“Personal finance education changes behaviors in positive ways,” says Pelletier. “Search Explain that High school students who have this knowledge improve their own money management practices, and share this learning with their families, which leads to improved parental knowledge, saving and spending behaviors.”
He also notes that individual financial literacy means healthier family budgets, which in turn builds a stronger nation’s economy. And studies like this One Show money savvy employees that they are happier with their jobs and stay longer.
Courtney Pocket, who teaches personal finance at Winooski High School, says she and her students believe it is the most important high school course in 2023. “It is the only course Vermont students will take in high school that they will use every day for the rest of their lives.” Her former student David Klinker, now a student at Champlain College, agreed, writing comment piece In VT Digger he shows how the course completely changed his life.
There’s a nationwide movement to bring the subject into more high schools, Pelletier says, since only one in four students nationwide currently has access to a guaranteed course.
Personal finance is also an equity issue, Pelletier says. indicates this Study 2022 by Next Gen Personal Finance, which shows that in states that do not guarantee access to personal finance education, those who need such training are the least likely to receive it. In these states, which includes Vermont, the affluent and least diverse high schools are about three times as likely to guarantee access to this training as the very poor and diverse high schools in our nation.
On the positive side, he notes that in the past year, six more states passed legislation guaranteeing a personal finance course, bringing the total number of states with such guarantees to 17. He also notes that dozens more states are expected to consider the change. In 2023, Vermont will be among them.
In the state poll, 87 percent of respondents indicated personal finance education in high schools is important and 12 percent said it is somewhat important. Ninety-three percent of respondents said that a course covering budgeting, investing, taxes and savings should be offered in high school, while 83 percent felt that the course should be foolproof for all students.
After learning that only 12 percent of high school students in Vermont have taken a personal finance course, 88 percent of respondents said the law requiring such a course is an urgent issue. Currently in Vermont, Black River, Lamoille, Milton, Missisquoi, Spaulding, Vergennes, and Winooski high schools provide students with guaranteed access to personal finance in high school. BFA St. Albans to join this list of secured access high schools.
Champlain College is one of the few colleges that requires its on-campus undergraduate students to take in-person financial training as a condition of graduation. the college Insight Program It teaches students essential personal finance skills including how to negotiate your salary (including benefits and evaluate compensation packages), create and follow a budget, establish credit, manage debt, invest your money, and more.
“Champlain provides its students with the life skills needed to complement academic and career success,” said Olivia Vitito, InSight Program Director. “Including four years of wellbeing-focused personal, financial, personal and financial training, workshops, seminars as part of our undergraduate requirements has resulted in Champlain graduates avoiding student loan default issues and enjoying financial stability after graduation.”
A bill calling for a civics course was introduced in the last session of the Vermont legislature, so the poll also included questions on the issue. Ninety-six percent of respondents believed that a course in civics—covering the Constitution and matters relating to the United States government—was important, and 92 percent indicated that such a course should be taught. Eighty-five percent of the respondents believe that civic education should be foolproof.
Vermont survey link: https://www.champlain.edu/centers-of-experience/center-for-financial-literacy/vt-poll-on-high-school-personal-finance
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About the Financial Literacy Center: Founded in 2010, Champlain College’s Center for Financial Literacy (CFL) is designed to foster and develop financial literacy skills among individuals, allowing them to make more informed decisions about spending, credit, debt, investments, and complex financial situations such as buying a home and saving for retirement. The CFL is nationally acclaimed for its efforts to increase the personal financial literacy of our citizens, and has become the trusted and reference source for national media coverage of financial literacy.
About Champlain College: Founded in 1878, Champlain College is a small, private, not-for-profit college in Burlington, Vermont, with additional campuses in Montreal, Canada, and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain offers a traditional college experience from its beautiful campus overlooking Lake Champlain and a wide range of degrees and certificates online through Champlain College Online. The college is known for its distinctive and innovative approach to career-focused education and its “flipped” curriculum, which helps students to be: “Ready for action. Ready for life. Ready to make a difference.” Champlain ranks in multiple U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Colleges” categories, including Best Value Schools, Best Colleges in the North, Best Colleges for Veterans, and Best Performing in Social Mobility. Champlain was also listed among The Princeton Review’s “Top 388 Colleges” in 2023 and was recognized as a 2022 College of Distinction for its “engagement, teaching, community, and results.” For more information visit www.champlain.edu.