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High school pilots Financial Algebra course to teach real‑world personal finance
Summary
Jamesville‑DeWitt high school teachers launched a Financial Algebra pilot that blends algebra and personal finance, includes community projects and student presentations, and will run four sections in its first year as part of CTE and graduation‑readiness initiatives.
Teachers from the Jamesville‑DeWitt high school described a Financial Algebra pilot that combines algebra instruction with practical personal‑finance topics aimed at making mathematics more relevant to students. Sue Techman, chair of the math department, introduced the course teachers and said the pilot was designed around community projects, real‑world calculation exercises and units chosen from a standard Financial Algebra text.
"We wanted something that's going to be accessible to every single student that walks into our doors," Sue Techman said, recounting teacher collaboration with the book's authors and a summer curriculum effort. Teachers explained the pilot includes nine selected units for the first year, student projects requiring local business interviews, and classroom work on decisions such as whether to pay student‑loan interest while in school or to consolidate loans and accept longer terms.
Students who have taken the course described it as useful and project‑based, and board members praised the approach as a creative way to tie algebra to students' personal futures. Presenters said the course also ties to the district's 'portrait of a graduate' goals and complements newly approved CTE programming in broadcasting.
