The Mahopac Central School District may soon become the first district in New York State to mandate personal financial literacy as a requirement for graduation.
The board is expected to vote on the idea next month and Trustee Tanner McCracken, who has championed the cause since he first joined the board five years ago, said he expects it to pass.
“This is something I am incredibly passionate about,” McCracken said. “Since I joined the board, our personal financial literacy class has been the most popular elective taken. It is something the kids want to learn about. They want to learn about how to grow their money, invest in themselves and have a bright future. The plan that was just released is going to be up for a vote next month with the board to ensure that if you graduate Mahopac High School you will have a seal of financial literacy on that diploma.”
McCracken said when he first proposed the idea there was some resistance from the administration and a few board members. Now, however, he believes everyone is on the same page.
“When Frank Meile took over as superintendent, he invited me to his office and asked me what exactly I had in mind,” McCracken said. “I had to convince a lot of board members and talk to many superintendents throughout the years. But I think [students] should know what their lives will look like from a money point of view; visualize a plan for themselves. This is when passion and purpose can meet career and productivity and lead them to be financially viable.”
McCracken said the plan is for students in grades 8 through 12, no matter what class they are in, be it history, English or science, there will be a section that relates to personal finance and real-world money management.
“Some will get the course concepts plugged into all their classes and then that will add up to one elective,” he explained.
Students will also have the option to take a single course on the subject to fulfill the requirement.
“We can implement it for seniors graduating this year. There are already 200 who would qualify,” he said. “Then there will be a mandate by 2028 that every student will have to qualify for this. We will be the first district in the state to require this to graduate.”
Under the proposed plan, most students would take the course in their sophomore or junior year. Then, in their senior year, they will be required to do a capstone project on what their next steps will be after graduating—a cost-of-living plan, getting a job or going into the military, etc.
McCracken called the plan “historic and a landmark.”
“The hope is other districts will follow through with something like this,” he said. “The state has been wanting to do it for a long time but never has. So, we will always go above and beyond, and the state should follow Mahopac. We will show every district how to get this done.”
Besides Meile, McCracken gave credit to Dr. Matt Lawrence, the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, and high school principal Pat Keeves, for putting the curriculum together.
“Those two are the ones who Meile instructed to draft it,” he said. “They are ones who put pen to paper and made it an educationally sound program.”
McCracken said the addition of the financial literacy requirement will not cause the district to eliminate other electives or force it to hire more staff.
“We haven’t updated our graduation policies in about 20 years,” he noted.
McCracken said he’s confident the board will vote to accept the plan when it meets next month.
“I’ve pushed and pushed, and I expect all of them (board members) to vote yes,” he said.
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