News Article - Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

For Immediate Release
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Contact:	JC Considine 781-338-3112

11 Massachusetts High Schools Receive Grants to Develop Innovative Financial Literacy Pilot Programs

BOSTON - Massachusetts Treasurer Steven Grossman and Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester today awarded state-funded grants to 11 high schools located in 10 Gateway City school districts to develop and pilot financial literacy programs for the 2013-14 school year. The Financial Literacy Pilot Program, which was established by the Legislature in July 2012, is a three-year pilot program to help 10 Gateway City school districts equip high school students with the knowledge and skills necessary to become self-supporting and make critical decisions regarding personal finances. The first-year planning grants awarded today will provide support to teams of educators and their partners in the development of financial literacy programs that align with the 2011 Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for Mathematics and the Economic Education Council's National Standards for Financial Literacy. The grant recipients will implement their financial literacy programs during the next school year. "As we begin National Financial Capability month in April, we are taking action to give young people strong financial foundations for their future," said Treasurer Steven Grossman. "These 10 communities will help provide each student with the tools to achieve basic financial literacy before graduation." "I am pleased that these schools will develop financial literacy units of study that will infuse the state's new mathematics frameworks into the classroom in a practical, real-world manner," said Commissioner Mitchell Chester. "It is more important than ever that every student leave high school equipped with the ability to apply personal financial literacy concepts and skills that are pivotal to making key life decisions." The districts receiving grant awards, and their corresponding schools and partners, are:

Fall River Public Schools: BMC Durfee High School with Bay Coast Bank, $19,870
Haverhill Public Schools: Haverhill High School with Haverhill Bank, $19,833
Holyoke Public Schools: Dean Technical High School with Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts, $14,626
Lowell Public Schools: Lowell High School with Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union and Community Teamwork, $20,000
Lynn Public Schools: Lynn Classical High School with Centerboard and Metro Credit Union, $20,000
Quincy Public Schools: North Quincy and Quincy High Schools with Quincy Credit Union and Quincy College, $20,000
Revere Public Schools: Revere High School with Revere Municipal Credit Union, $20,000
Salem Public Schools: Salem High School with Cyberspace, Salem State University, Cabot Money Management, and Salem Five, $13,700
Springfield Public Schools: Putnam Vocational Technical Academy with Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts and Elms College, $20,000
Worcester: Worcester Technical High School with Worcester Credit Union and UMass Medical Regional Science Resource, $20,000

An 11-member Financial Literacy Advisory Committee, which Treasurer Grossman and Commissioner Chester co-chair, will evaluate the success of the pilot program and issue a report on the effectiveness of the program after its first three years of implementation. For more information, go to http://www.doe.mass.edu/stem/grants.html.

Last Updated: March 26, 2013