While local families stocked up on pencils and backpacks, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia was busy with its own back-to-school preparations, readying hundreds of copies of its Keys to Financial Success curriculum for School District of Philadelphia teachers gearing up to meet the state’s new personal finance requirement.

This school year marks a milestone for Pennsylvania students: The state now requires a standalone half-credit personal finance course for high school graduation. When the School District of Philadelphia put out a call for economic education organizations to provide materials, the Philadelphia Fed’s Economic Education team answered. The team would assemble teacher guides and student handouts for more than a dozen Philadelphia teachers preparing to teach the new course as part of a special agreement with the school district.

“It was a huge undertaking!” said Economic Education Specialist Meaghan Vitale. “But seeing it all come together made it worth every minute. I’m proud to have played a part in getting these resources into teachers’ hands.”

Economic Education Specialist Meaghan Vitale (left) and Economic Education Advisor Rebecca Chambers put together materials for Philadelphia teachers preparing to teach the new standalone course.

Financial Literacy Gains Momentum

Pennsylvania joins a growing number of states embracing financial literacy mandates. According to the Council for Economic Education, 39 states now require a personal finance course for graduation, up from just one in 1998. Research published in the Economics of Education Review has found that students who take these courses go on to have higher credit scores and lower delinquency rates.

Delaware and New Jersey, the two other states in the Philadelphia Fed’s District, have charted their own paths. Delaware established its personal finance standards in 2018 and, starting this school year, will also require a standalone course for graduation. New Jersey rolled out a high school course mandate with the entering class of 2010–2011, later expanding it to include a middle school component in 2019–2020. Many high schools in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware are already using the Keys curriculum.

“We’re glad to see more states adopting stand-alone personal finance standards,” said Assistant Vice President for Economic Education Andrew Hill. “Early personal finance education is important to equip kids with the knowledge and tools they need to make informed decisions later in life.”

Assistant Vice President for Economic Education Andrew Hill has trained teachers from across the nation to teach personal finance and economics. Here, Hill addresses educators during their visit to the Philadelphia Fed’s Money in Motion exhibit.

Decades of Impact: How the Philadelphia Fed Has Shaped Financial Literacy

The Philadelphia Fed’s involvement in personal finance education isn’t new. Economic education gives people the skills and knowledge to be informed consumers, contributing to the Fed’s five functions that promote the strength and stability of the U.S. economy and financial system.

In 2001, the Philadelphia Fed partnered with the University of Delaware Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship to create the Keys to Financial Success curriculum. Now in its fifth edition, the program has trained more than 600 teachers. Philadelphia Fed economic educators have also published four peer-reviewed studies showing that students taught by Keys-trained teachers see real gains in financial knowledge. One study showed that the average Keys student gained 60 percent in their personal knowledge, based on tests given before and after the course.

Hill has also played a central role in shaping personal finance education both in Pennsylvania and nationally. He co-authored the National Standards for Financial Literacy and has advised the New Jersey Department of Education on updated personal finance standards. In Pennsylvania, Hill served on task forces that recommended standalone personal finance standards and courses, and he later helped write the new standards.

The reach of the Philadelphia Fed’s economic education efforts extends beyond the region, too: Thousands of teachers — from the Philadelphia Fed’s District and all over the United States — have participated in its training programs.

Contributing to Success

As Pennsylvania’s new mandate takes hold, the Philadelphia Fed’s assembly-line effort this summer reflected a broader, decades-long mission: giving teachers the tools to help students graduate with the financial know-how they need for life beyond the classroom.

“Keys to Financial Success has a proven track record, and we’re proud to support efforts that will hopefully improve financial outcomes for students in our District,” Hill said.

You can find out more about the Philadelphia Fed’s economic education programs at www.philadelphiafed.org/education.