Thanks to John Pelletier, who joined me recently on the NGPF Podcast show to discuss national trends in personal finance education and a solution to the professional development needs of high school instructors.  Embarking on a second career with a mission to improve the financial literacy of young adults in Vermont, John has had a tremendous impact on creating a national dialogue on what the key ingredients of a personal finance program should look like.

Among John’s many awards, he was recently selected as the 2015 Financial Literacy Champion by the Vermont JumpStart Coalition.  Included in this broad-ranging discussion, John shares the “hot off the press” results of his biennial Report Card which evaluates state-level efforts to improve financial literacy in high schools.  Enjoy!

Details:

• 0:30: How did a Duke law graduate with 20 years in the asset management industry end up starting up a financial literacy center at Champlain College in Burlington, VT?  
• 3:15: Discusses Vermont Summit as launch pad for financial literacy efforts within the state
• 4:30: Discusses Financial Literacy Summer Institute pilot program held at Champlain College
• 12:00: Philosophy of Summer Institute pilot for teachers; gaps that training filled
• 19:00: Costs to run a Summer Institute
• 20:55: Why John added student loans training module for the teachers in the third year of institute
• 22:30: John discusses 2015 National Report Card on State Efforts To Improve Financial Literacy in High Schools and factors that go into the grades given to each state
• 27:15: How are we doing as a nation when it comes to personal finance based on your research?
• 28:00: Examples of states (Alabama and Florida) that have made changes at the state level to improve their grades
• 30:00: Research found that the more local control at the district level the less likely it is that a state will mandate that personal finance be taught
• 31:00: States doing an excellent job in training teachers (Utah)
• 34:00: Why does Utah have such a concerted effort to teach high school students financial literacy?
• 35:50: How to pitch a school board to increase commitment to personal finance
• 38:35: Why student loans and college financing issues are not incorporated in national standards for financial literacy
• 43:00: Discusses shortcomings in entrance counseling process
• 45:45: What concepts would you teach high school seniors about personal finance if you only had 45 minutes?

Show notes:

• JumpStart Teacher Training Alliance
  • Pilot Research Report
• Details on Financial Literacy Summer Institute
• NEFE Study (2009): Teachers’ Background & Capacity to Teach Personal Finance
• 2015 National Report Card on State Efforts To Improve Financial Literacy in High Schools
• How to pitch your school board:
  • Advancing K-12 Financial Education: A Guide for Policymakers
• John’s column in HuffPost: The 45-Minute Financial Literacy Workout for High School Seniors

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.