New Personal Financial Education Class Offered at Gallup Central High School in New Mexico
The statistics are staggering: collectively Americans are burdened with nearly a trillion dollars worth of credit card debt, more students drop out of college because of overwhelming debt levels than bad grades, and America’s cities and towns are packed with more payday lending stores than McDonald’s restaurants. The State of New Mexico is no different from the rest of the country in facing an urgent need for financial education, and a recent state mandate requires all New Mexico public high schools to offer financial literacy instruction. At Gallup Central High School, McKinley County’s alternative high school, the response has been swift and direct. A new class titled “Financial Literacy: Life on Your Terms” has been added to the school’s course listing for the upcoming spring semester.
“I’m proud to see our school take the lead on a financial literacy initiative,” stated Central High Principal Don Sparks. “We already have a consumer math class that meets the state’s minimum financial literacy requirements, but we’re expanding to give our students a financial education course that provides a more substantive content. These issues are far too important to neglect.”
Central High Business Education teacher Arnold Blum will pilot the new class placing emphasis on developing practical money skills applicable to students’ daily lives. The nine week elective will address such relevant personal finance topics as responsible use of a credit card, avoiding predatory lenders, understanding banking, car buying tips, safeguarding against identity theft, and basic investing skills.
“I’m really excited about this course,” Blum explained. “I earned my bachelors degree in economics and worked in the financial services industry before becoming a teacher, so when Principal Sparks approached me with this opportunity, I couldn’t resist.” Blum has taught in the McKinley County School District for over ten years, and with a 98% Native American student body at Central High, he recognizes a responsibility to address financial education in a cultural context. Fortunately, two high profile organizations have offered assistance in this regard: First Nations Development Institute, a national Native non-profit based in Longmont Colorado promoting financial literacy in Native communities for more than two decades, and the Department of the Interior’s Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians, a federal agency managing both tribal trust funds and Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts since 1994.
To help kick off the pilot First Nations Development Institute recently sent Shawn Spruce, a financial education consultant and trainer who specializes in working with Native youth, to present a workshop for Central High students at an all-school assembly on Tuesday, December 15th 2009. Spruce facilitated several exciting interactive activities to acquaint students with the importance of financial literacy and encourage them to enroll in the upcoming course. He also assisted Blum in drafting the course agenda and designing lesson plans.
“Financial education has to be enjoyable and entertaining if it’s going to be effective” Spruce stated. “So we’ve made sure to include plenty of interaction and hands on learning experiences to maintain focus in the classroom.”
First Nations Development Institute has also provided the school with textbooks for the course. Their highly regarded Building Native Communities financial education manuals serve as the standard for Native American financial literacy programs across the country.
“I’m really impressed with the collaboration from First Nations and the Office of the Special Trustee: engaging guest speakers, fantastic curricular materials, and solid technical support,” Blum affirmed.
The Gallup Central High pilot is not the first time First Nations Development Institute and the Office of the Special Trustee have teamed up to promote financial education. In fact, the two organizations have a well established partnership that places financial literacy as its primary objective.
Liz Sparks, an Office of the Special Trustee Fiduciary Trust Officer for Eastern Navajo and Shiprock Agencies, who will periodically assist with lessons in Blum’s classroom, elaborated. “Financial literacy is a huge concern anywhere you go in this country, but especially in McKinley County where high rates of poverty combined with a very aggressive predatory lending industry have wreaked havoc on Native American families for generations,” she stated. “This pilot program is one of many national financial education projects that OST and First Nations have co-produced for the benefit of Native communities. Our other efforts have included workshops, technical assistance, and counseling.”
Response from students has been extremely positive, with many already signed up for the new class scheduled to start on January 11th. Central High senior, Michael Howe, will graduate in May and plans to take the financial literacy course to help him prepare for life after high school. “I need that class because whenever I have money, I just blow it,” Howe quipped following Tuesday’s assembly.
And students aren’t the only ones with high hopes for the Central High financial literacy initiative.
“We’re conducting the pilot here at Central first,” Principal Sparks explained. “If the feedback is positive, and I’m confident it will be, we’re looking at this course as a great way to address the “Financial Literacy” requirement in all nine of our McKinley County High Schools in the future.”
