Winooski’s commitment to financial literacy is paying off
Courtney Poquette teaches a personal finance class at Winooski High School
Just 12 schools in Vermont guarantee students a personal finance class as part of their graduation requirements — including Winooski High School, where business teacher Courtney Poquette is working hard to change that.
“There are a lot of inequities with where this is taught,” she said.
In addition to the 12 schools that guarantee a personal finance class, another 28 offer one as an elective, according to Poquette. But 16 high schools, or almost 30% of those in the state, do not offer their own personal finance courses. Instead, the financial literacy curriculum is embedded in another course.
The outlook is getting better nationwide. Two years ago, only eight states in the country guaranteed personal finance classes, Poquette said. That number has now jumped to 23, she said.
Vermont isn’t one of them. Legislators last session introduced a bill, H.228, that would require students to complete at least a semester-long financial literacy course in order to graduate. But the bill is in limbo for now. This, despite widespread belief that young people are ill-equipped to manage money — more than nine out of 10 Vermonters believe personal finance education should be taught in high schools, according to a poll released by Champlain College in January.
“The hope is that the bill can move forward, and there’s a time when we can hear more testimony on that,” Poquette said.
In the meantime, all Winooski can do is serve as an example of what benefits finance courses can provide while preparing students for their futures the best they can. Some of Poquette’s students are already earning income, and they need to know what they are getting themselves into.
“A lot of students get a W-2 and don’t know what to do, so they get rid of it,” Poquette said. People who are earning under the standard deduction are losing money when they do this, she said.
So Poquette takes a head-on approach. In a recent class session, she presented students with a sample W-2 form and instructed them to answer a series of multiple-choice questions.
The handout was taken directly from a national nonprofit called Next Gen Personal Finance, which provides free professional development and curriculum for teachers and in 2020 recognized Winooski High for its efforts.
Image courtesy of Winooski School District
Poquette is not limited to this approach, however. “I create a lot of my own activities,” she said. On a day-to-day basis, she tries to incorporate a mix of listening and learning for students, with plenty of opportunities for students to get hands-on experience and collaborate in small groups.
There is no shortage of opportunities for Winooski students. The course runs for a full year and incorporates several different units, including income and taxes; spending and credit; saving and investing; and risk management and financial decision-making.
Still in the early stages of the school year, Winooski's financial literacy students have already learned a lot. One student, Rohan Pradhan, a junior, spoke to the importance of a 529 education savings plan. “(The money) goes in tax-free and you can invest into retirement if it’s rolled over,” Pradhan said. Another student, Ler Der Star, a sophomore, talked about learning the difference between net price and sticker price when it comes to paying for college.
To Poquette, it is just the beginning for Winooski students. “Think of what we’re going to cover by June,” she said.