One month into the school year, Baldwin students are getting a realistic preview of the financial decisions awaiting them after graduation, as the school district expands personal finance instruction under a new state requirement.
The Board of Regents adopted a requirement for personal finance education, which became effective in March. Starting this year, public schools must begin providing instruction to students in the middle school grade band, grades five through eight, as well as in high school. The requirement will take effect for kindergarten through fourth grade in 2027-28.
According to the State Education Department, schools are not required to teach personal finance at every grade level. Instead, students must receive the instruction by the end of each grade band, giving districts flexibility in deciding when and how to incorporate it into their existing programs.
The State Education Department has identified five broad topics for instruction: budgeting and money management, credit and debt management, earning income, risk management, and saving and investing. The requirement does not establish a new diploma or credit requirement.
Rather than confining the concepts to a single classroom, Baldwin has incorporated financial literacy into existing subjects and programs. The district has also introduced an Advanced Placement Business and Personal Finance course at Baldwin High School, an elective that combines business concepts with personal finance.
Stephanie Rengifo, Baldwin’s assistant superintendent for instruction, said district staff spent the previous school year reviewing existing coursework and identifying opportunities to build on the curriculum already in place.
“We first identified what is the best place for this work to happen, where it doesn’t seem extra, it seems relevant, and we also have the opportunity to make real world connections,” Rengifo said.
For middle school students, financial literacy has been incorporated into Family and Consumer Science, or FACS. Lessons on credit, interest and budgeting can culminate in hands-on projects in which students develop and pitch their own businesses.
Students can, for example, create a restaurant while considering the careers, education and financial decisions involved in operating one.
“Students also have the opportunity to think about their future selves, so ‘who do I want to be when I grow up?’” Rengifo said. “So, they get to create their own restaurants, they get to identify career information, like ‘what does it mean to be a chef?’ or ‘what kind of preparation do I need to do?’ It was a really nice opportunity to kind of, like, blend those two, the financial literacy and something tangible, creative, project based and sort of really innovative.”
At Baldwin High School, students can take those lessons further through Advanced Placement Business and Personal Finance. Gregory Kelly, the business instructor teaching the new course, said both sections filled this semester.
Kelly, who has taught in the district for 25 years, said the state’s new personal finance requirement represents progress in preparing students for decisions they will face after high school, even though the AP course itself is not a graduation requirement.
“I think it’s super important, because I feel like so many students leave high school, and they took the foundation classes, but there’s never been a requirement for them to have access to this information,” Kelly said. “I just think that as we move forward, students are gonna make better financial decisions.”
The course covers topics including debt, credit cards, taxes and investing, along with broader business concepts. Kelly said those lessons can have an impact well after students leave his classroom.
“I got an email from one of my former students like two years ago and he wanted to thank me because I suggested that he start a Roth IRA at a very young age,” Kelly said. “He wanted to let me know Roth IRA hit $10,000.”
Kelly has advocated for a standalone personal finance course to be required for graduation. He said the state’s new instructional requirement is a step toward that goal.
“Is this a step in the right direction? Absolutely. But is it exactly what we’ve been advocating for? We’re not there yet, but we’re happy we’re seeing progress,” Kelly said.
Students in the new AP course also put business concepts into practice by working collaboratively to develop a business idea and adding components into their business model throughout the course.
Senior Gavin Brownell, who is enrolled in the class and wants to be a business management major in college, said it fits closely with his plans after graduation.
“This is possibly one of the most perfect classes that can set my mind up for that next level,” Brownell said. “I feel like this is one of the most influential and one of the best APs we’ve ever had.”
Baldwin’s financial-literacy instruction, however, predates the new AP offering. Senior Xavier Melendez, who is not enrolled in the course, said previous personal finance and business math classes with Kelly taught him practical skills including completing a W-2 form, filing taxes, budgeting and spending.
Melendez later applied what he learned while participating in this year’s inaugural Junior Achievement of New York Stock Market Challenge at Hofstra University. His Baldwin High School ‘Stock Masters’ team took first place.
“I took what I learned from Mr. Kelly’s course and brought it to a college level when I was at Hofstra,” Melendez said. “It was really a game changer for me. I don’t think I could have done any of that without business personal finance class.”
Financial literacy is also being incorporated into Baldwin’s School2Career programs. Gabriella Franza, the district’s assistant director of instructional programs, said students can examine the financial side of careers, including education and medicine, while considering their plans after high school.
“It always about how we can make everything applicable for students in the real world, how we can move from the theory that’s discussed in the classroom to what everything looks like when planning for careers, ‘cause that, um, you know, is our districts goal, and it’s my own personal goal because I think that that’s so important for students to know and understand,” Franza said.
For Kelly, the relevance of financial education to student lives is what has kept him teaching the subject after 25 years.
“I think sometimes students might question some of the classes they’re in. ‘Why do I have to take this?’ and ‘Why do I need this to graduate?’” Kelly said. “I don’t get that in my class, and I’m very fortunate, and this probably is some of the reason why I can still do it 25 years later, it’s because each material is very relevant to those students that I know I’m truly helping.”
