Colonial outlines K–12 economics and personal finance program; district says 10th-grade course embeds personal finance

Colonial School District officials on May 6 described how the district teaches economics and financial literacy from kindergarten through high school, saying the work aims to give students both economic reasoning and everyday money-management skills.

"By building their economic literacy, we help our students grow into informed and engaged citizens who can understand public policy and participate meaningfully in our democracy," said Dr. Nicholas Baker, supervisor of curriculum, assessment and instruction, during a presentation to the Colonial School Board.

The district described a sequence that begins with an "Economics for Kids" program in kindergarten through second grade created by the University of Delaware Center for Economic Education, continues with a civics-first then economics sequence in seventh grade, and culminates in a full-year high school economics course required for 10th graders. That high school course includes roughly half a year of personal finance…