Phil Huber ’11
Staff Writer

A personal financial management class will now be offered at the beginning of the upcoming school year.

According to the course catalogue, the focus of this course will be using mathematics as a tool in developing financial literacy skills.

Topics covered in the course will include: earnings, banking, credit cards, loans, taxes, insurance, investing, loans, budgeting, and buying personal property.

“In a perfect world, everyone would be required to take a personal finance course,” Principal John Dodig said.

Larry Klein, a math teacher, constructed the course with fellow math teachers Caroline James and Sarah White, all of whom have financial backgrounds.

He explained that the course was originally postponed after its proposal, but recently became an initiative of the Board of Education.

The class will prepare students to use financial literacy skills in everyday life.

While this is considered as an A-level semester course, it will be open to a wider range of students in the future.

“We don’t want to exclude people,” Klein said.

The class will be available for all who have successfully completed Algebra 2. If the class becomes very diverse, different course levels may become a possibility.

Which teachers control the class is still unkown. Depending on how many students enroll, it will most likely be a combination of all three teachers.

They have high expectations for the course, and it has also received positive feedback from parents.

“The largest factors that make a good class are students’ interest in the subject and the teacher. In this case I think both factors will be very strong,” Dodig said.

Considering the way Americans – and students – have demonstrated their abilities to handle money, Dodig feels that such a course is essential to one’s education.