New Financial Literacy Program Introduced in 2023-24

Assumption School is looking to the future of our student's success by planting the seeds of financial literacy in the 2023-24 school year. The school has teamed up with the MassMutual Foundation and EVERFI by introducing a new component to our Middle School Social Studies program – Financial Literacy.

Assumption knows that as our students move into their teen years, they are impacted by money, costs, and opportunities to spend (or save). Ultimately, understanding finances can dramatically help in planning for a future life. In addition, we also know that by the time students reach middle school, they have already developed the capacity to understand complex economic concepts, make financial judgments, and assign value to purchases and brands. Yet the majority of today’s students don’t have the money management skills they need to navigate the modern financial world.

Thanks to Mrs. Stacy Chassaniol, beginning in August 2023, our Middle School Social Studies curriculum will introduce and include financial literacy. It will follow curriculum standards for the State of Missouri and empowers students to effectively manage their finances, make sound decisions, and become financially responsible. Through a digital story-based narrative and interactive exercises, students learn to make real-life decisions about their personal finances, as well as how to achieve important goals around saving money, education and career planning, and budgeting. Here are the planned lessons:

Lesson 1: Students are introduced to the course storyline and participate in their mayoral inauguration! Students also take a “Financial Personality Test,” and reflect on their own personal financial priorities, habits and mindsets.

Lesson 2: Students learn the importance of budgeting as they help a character redecorate his room on a limited budget. Students engage in comparison-shopping methods to ultimately learn how to make smart choices about when and how to spend.

Lesson 3: Students learn both the importance of saving and how to manage day-to-day expenses. Students help a character find a job, review his paycheck and credit card statement, and decide when to utilize different payment types.

Lesson 4: Help a character explore different career path options and narrow her interests by examining required skills and interests, income potential, and education and training requirements. Students also explore ways to reduce out-of-pocket cost of higher education.

Lesson 5: Students learn all about business growth as they help a business owner with various tasks, such as calculating monthly profit and loss and strategizing how to save for new capital. Students learn how to open savings and checking accounts, grow money faster with a certificate deposit, and make monthly transaction decisions.

Lesson 6: Send students through a “life simulation” and help a character make important insurance and investment decisions. Through helping the character analyze and select different insurance policies, students get the chance to experience just how random, unexpected occurrences can lead to financial loss.

Lesson 7: The FutureSmart program comes full circle in this final lesson, as students utilize their newfound knowledge to set their own financial goals and plans for the future. Students create a portfolio piece, known as their “Blueprint,” which details future career interests, plans for higher education, and next action steps.

Assumption School has been a leader in education for 152 years, and was chosen by Catholic educational leaders to pilot the curriculum for nearly 100 elementary schools within the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Assumption School Principal Dr. Patricia Hensley is excited to offer students yet another challenging course of study by introducing Financial Literacy to the curriculum next year. 

For more information about this and all our school courses, please contact Dr. Hensley at 636-240-4474.