As a high school educator entrusted with teaching students about personal finance, I have a message: we need your help to prepare our youth for their financial futures. 

April has been designated as Financial Literacy Month and I wanted to make sure readers understand that teaching financial literacy skills takes a community of people working together towards a common purpose in order to invest in the success of future generations.

Generation Z, which includes all high school students across America, has one of the lowest levels of financial literacy among the five generations of American adults, according to the TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index.

Students recognize this deficit and are themselves asking for instruction in finance; a 2021 survey of Gen Z teenagers found that 74 percent of teens didn’t feel confident about finances, and 73 percent of them wanted more personal finance education. It’s no wonder. Many young people are interacting with complex finances from an early age thanks to gaming, peer-to-peer payments, digital currencies, and online purchasing.

Research shows that classroom-based financial education works, finding that K-12 personal finance mandates result in higher credit scores, smarter borrowing decisions, lower default rates, and reduced use of payday lending, among many other positive outcomes.

Moreover, financial education can be a great way to contextualize math and reading in real-world situations. Even students who struggle with math can get excited about compound interest! And I’ve been teaching this long enough now to have seen how the empowerment of learning to handle finances can change young lives, and sometimes that of their families. Starting early and being consistent in the instruction of personal finance will yield even more comprehensive and engrained financial savvy.

Thankfully, North Carolina was one of the first in the nation who recognized the need for these critical topics. According to the NGPF’s 2024 State of Financial Education Report, NC was the 7th state to fully implement personal finance guarantees to enhance the financial success of students and requires all high school students to complete a semester of Economics and Personal Finance (EFP) as a graduation requirement. 

The need to teach financial empowerment in every K-12 classroom nationwide is the driving force behind my joining hundreds of teachers nationwide in signing up to participate in the nonprofit Jump$tart Coalition’s Teen Teach-in this April. We are bringing together high school students, elementary students, teachers and parents to raise awareness about the serious financial knowledge gap that endangers this generation’s future.

As a part of the Jump$tart Teen Teach-In, 15 students from the Lenoir County Early College High school will travel to Northwest Elementary school and spend time with their 3rd grade classes. We are harnessing the power of peer-to-peer learning by empowering my high school students to teach financial lessons to their younger counterparts. This benefits everyone involved: my students thoroughly master the topic as they rehearse and plan their lesson; elementary school students are introduced to financial concepts (perhaps for the first time) via an engaging lesson from “the big kids”; elementary school teachers get inspired by the way their students react to the lesson, hopefully sparking an interest in further incorporating financial education into their lessons; and perhaps most importantly, parents and the public learn about the need for financial education starting in elementary school.

I also have a challenge for our community during this Financial Literacy Month, ESPECIALLY if you are involved in any part of the business or finance industry. Reach out to a local high school and speak with their EPF or Business teacher about what you can do to help them teach their students financial literacy skills. We desperately need contacts with banks, insurance agencies, financial planners, tax professionals, auditors/comptrollers, investment firms, marketing firms, and anyone else who can help us provide real life financial knowledge to our students. 

If you have a desire to help students learn financial skills, consider partnering with a local teacher or school to provide supplies they can use for entrepreneurial development. Help by supplementing travel expenses for students as they go to competitions or visit businesses to learn about various careers. Unfortunately, costs are a big reason why teachers can’t do all that they want to do with their students and when those barriers are reduced, they are able to really help their students by coming up with some creative ideas. Consider the possibility of creating a grant specific to financial literacy skill development for teachers to apply for. If the opportunity is available to use funds for this purpose, I guarantee you will see some amazing results.

Lastly, give thought to serving as a regional advisory board member for the North Carolina Council on Economic Education (NCCEE) and helping plan financial literacy opportunities for our local community. 

It’s been my privilege to help educate hundreds of young people about how they can take charge of their finances and their future, avoiding the expensive mistakes so many of us adults have made. I hope you’ll join me in supporting these endeavors, not only during April’s Financial Literacy Month, but throughout the year, so that future generations can benefit from a strong foundation in personal finance knowledge.

Dr. Travis Towne is a social studies teacher at the Lenoir County Early College High School in Kinston. He has taught for more than 18 years in a variety of settings, including junior high, high school and college. He has been married for 25 years and has three daughters (one adopted). He also works part-time as the Chief Livestream Engineer for Magic Mile Media and Neuse News. He is an Army veteran with service during Operation Iraqi Freedom and volunteers as a drummer and technical facilitator for Tanglewood Church of God. You can connect with Travis via email at ttowne@lenoir.k12.nc.us, Facebook at facebook.com/travis.towne.18 or on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/travis-towne-69106443.