The Trajectory of Financial Literacy Education in Chicago
- On the Money Magazine
- Jul 17
- 2 min read
Rika Nishikawa, Homeschool, Senior, Fall 2024
To say that education, particularly in financial literacy, is the foundation of a high schooler’s success is an argument that is hard to debate. For high schoolers heading into independence, knowing how to manage their finances is ever-more important, and yet, financial education is falling behind—only 33% of Gen Z learned finance in school and one in four states that their lack of financial education creates barriers to reaching financial goals (Bank of America, 2021).
Since 1970, Illinois has required consumer education for high schoolers, and to strengthen financial education and empower students, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) in 2018 developed Empowered!, a curriculum covering foundational financial topics from economic concepts and money management to credit and insurance. Additionally, as of November 2024, a bill requiring a standalone personal finance course is being processed through the Illinois General Assembly. “I can confidently say that financial education in Chicago Public Schools has never been stronger,” CPS financial education specialist Dustin Voss reflected. “And yet, there is still plenty of work to do, especially for our students furthest from opportunity. We know that CPS, along with many partners, remains committed to overcoming those challenges and building on the momentum of the past decade.”
Among those partners is CARE Chicago. With a great base of volunteers, who themselves work in the financial sector, the Chicago chapter of the non-profit organization CARE has provided interactive and engaging financial education for Chicago students. “Many schools have consumer education or financial literacy curricula, but teachers still bring us in to enhance that curriculum…We reach several thousand, between four and five thousand [students] a year,” CARE Chicago chair Erica Wax explained. “I think that it is our personal experiences that really make our presentations come to life and help us connect with students.”
With 80% of US adults responding that they wish they were required to take a class in financial literacy during high school (National Endowment for Financial Education, 2022), the advancement of financial education is a need felt by many. There is no doubt that financial literacy will lead to an improvement of not only one’s financial success but also overall education—a stepping stone for the effort towards higher-quality and more equitable education.
Sources:
Bank of America’s Better Money Habits (https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/dam/newsroom/docs/2021/102721_BMH%20Gen%20Z%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf)
National Endowment for Financial Education (https://www.nefe.org/news/2022/04/financial-education-mandates.aspx)
Interview quotes
Dustin Voss (CPS Financial Education Specialist)
Erica Wax (CARE Chicago Chair)
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