BRAINERD — Beginning with this year’s ninth graders, all high school students in Minnesota will be required to take a personal finance course.
The requirement came out of the 2023 Legislative session and applies to students beginning with this year’s ninth graders. The new class at Brainerd High School will begin this fall for 10th graders, but it is not the first personal finance class at the school.
The school currently offers an elective personal finance course, and it’s also a topic discussed in the 12th grade economics and family and consumer science. None of those classes will go away, but the new required course is specifically designed to align with the new state standards.
Those standards identified by the Minnesota Department of Education are financial psychology, earning and income, financial systems, credit and debt management, risk management and budgeting and investing.
Brainerd School Board members heard about the new class during their meeting Monday, April 14, from Melissa Cournia, K-12 literacy coordinator, and Brandy Haglin, secondary curriculum specialist and online school coordinator.
With the standards from the Department of Education in mind, the description for the course — created by a whole team of teachers and administrators at the high school — lays out a goal for students to develop financial literacy knowledge and skills to prepare for life after high school. Topics will include establishing a budget, earning a living, saving and investment options, selecting and using credit options, financial problem-solving and decision-making, banking organization services options, and managing risk through insurance.
Theresa Bourke / Brainerd Dispatch
“It’s not simple memorization of information, memorization of terms,” Haglin said. “We want to build skills, and we want to implement those skills in the focus areas that MDE has provided.
When exploring curriculum resources to use in the class, the team landed on Next Gen Personal Finance, which is a free curriculum that Haglin said aligns with the focus areas, fosters a high level of thinking for students and gives teachers flexibility based on student needs.
Good for the state of Minnesota. They finally did something that’s needed around here.
DJ Dondelinger, school board member
Cournia said the class will not aim to push an agenda but help students explore various aspects of personal finance in depth and then be able to make decisions for themselves based on their goals and values.
Board member John Ward said there should be a lot of real world examples for teachers to use in this class, and Haglin said teachers also plan to bring in community professionals to share their expertise in this area.
Board member DJ Dondelinger said this is a class students definitely need.
“Good for the state of Minnesota,” Dondelinger said. “They finally did something that’s needed around here.”
Superintendent Peter Grant said this course is critical, especially for students who don’t get this type of instruction at home and will be relying on the school for it.
Board members gave unanimous approval of the course.
THERESA BOURKE may be reached at
theresa.bourke@brainerddispatch.com
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Theresa Bourke started working at the Dispatch in July 2018, covering Brainerd city government and area education, including Brainerd Public Schools and Central Lakes College.
