Boston Council hearing outlines expansion plan for financial literacy in Boston Public Schools

Boston City Council members and Boston Public Schools officials met Sept. 25 to review the district’s financial literacy offerings and plans to expand them to more students across the city.

Boston Public Schools teaching-and-learning leaders and postsecondary staff described current programs — from early childhood books that introduce money concepts to online modules and volunteer-led workshops for high schoolers — and laid out near-term targets, including a district goal that every high-school student completes at least one myCAP financial literacy experience and a planned pilot of an Advanced Placement business course that includes personal finance in 2026–27.

The hearing, convened by the city council education committee, brought district staff, the Boston Chamber Foundation and community providers to the chamber to answer councilors’ questions about how student access differs by school and how the city can better coordinate partners and fund sustained programming.

Dr. Angela Hedlund Mitchell, Chief of Teaching and Learning for Boston Public Schools, described curriculum links and vendor tools the district currently uses. “We have currently 30 schools who are utilizing the EverFi platform,” she said, and listed K–12 curriculum touchpoints from kindergarten storybooks through high-school lessons on compound interest and budgeting. She said EverFi modules (grades 4–12) and integration into high-quality math and history materials are among several routes schools choose to deliver financial content.

Marcia Innes Mitchell, Executive Director of Postsecondary Initiatives and Partnerships, explained how the district’s myCAP (My Career and Academic Plan) process embeds a single annual financial-literacy experience for each ninth through twelfth grader and how schools may activate that experience through partners, EverFi, or in-class lessons. Innes Mitchell provided recent completion data, saying that participation rose substantially in one year: ninth-grade completion moved from about 5% to 30%; tenth graders from 7% to 49%; eleventh graders from 40% to 50%; and twelfth graders from 66% to 72%. “The goal is 100% completion of that financial literacy experience across grades,” she said, adding that the state’s reporting requirements for myCAP completion are driving the push.

Anne Rogers Clark, BPS development officer for strategy, partnerships and innovation, described a volunteer pilot with the Boston Chamber Foundation launched in three high schools (Brighton, O’Bryant and Dearborn) and plans to expand. The Chamber committed to at least one volunteer-led experience per month at participating schools; Clark described a growth plan that moves from the initial three-school pilot to a five-school expansion this year (about 750 students), then to 10 schools (1,500 students) in 2026–27 and 20 schools (3,000 students) by 2027–28.

Community providers described classroom and out-of-school approaches they run alongside BPS. Steve Whalen, founder of City Kids, said the group has delivered roughly 300 workshops and emphasized urgency: “Financial literacy right now is more important than algebra,” he told the committee, describing surveys of program participants that found high levels of household financial strain and widespread use of check-cashing services. Nislo Galvao of Early Investors, a nonprofit that runs multiweek financial courses and reality-fair simulations, reported program outcomes: many participants have little or no savings, the majority had not previously had checking or savings accounts, and after instruction a large share said they intended to open a savings or investment account within six months.

Councilors pressed BPS staff on equity and consistency: while district leaders said the financial-literacy experience is part of each school’s myCAP scope and sequence, they acknowledged schools activate that experience unevenly and that some rely on single-day events or module completion rather than sustained coursework. Councilors asked what supports are needed to make the learning universal; staff called for continued partner coordination, more school-level capacity to “activate” experiences, professional learning for teachers, and data reporting at the school level so the council can see which schools are operationalizing the work.

Panelists also discussed other implementation venues: the district’s college-and-career activities, partnerships with the Boston Private Industry Council for summer-job preparation and enrollment assistance, on-site FAFSA/MASFA help during college-and-career month, and volunteer-led sessions that bring bankers and financial professionals into classrooms. BPS leaders noted the district will pilot the College Board’s AP Business: Personal Finance course in 2026–27.

Several councilors recommended expanding financial literacy into the city’s youth jobs orientation and into reentry programming. Early Investors described a prior partnership delivering classes at the Suffolk County House of Corrections and said its curriculum addresses budgeting, payroll taxes, reentry needs and practical steps for building an account after release.

No formal vote or ordinance was proposed at the hearing. Councilors requested follow-up materials including school-by-school data on which programs and vendors were used, EverFi completion metrics, and an update at a future hearing on progress toward the district’s stated 100% myCAP participation target.

The hearing included community testimony from nonprofit providers who urged stronger, citywide requirements and stable funding to scale multiweek courses rather than episodic events.

Ending: BPS officials left the council with specific next steps to report back: provide a school-level implementation breakdown, share EverFi usage and completion data, and monitor the AP pilot and Chamber volunteer expansion. Councilors signaled interest in holding another hearing after the district compiles those metrics to review progress and equity of access across schools.