Amid a slumping economy and rising financial woes, Councilman Calvin Ball is continuing his push to help Howard residents better manage their money.
Since hosting his first financial literacy summit this past year, Ball, D-District 2, has been working to raise awareness and encourage banks, Realtors, schools and other organizations to take on the issue.
“I think the energy will grow, because there is a need out there,” said Ball, whose second summit is planned for Saturday.
Declaring April Financial Literacy Month has helped raise awareness, but ultimately, Ball said, he wants more services and opportunities to educate adults and youth on money matters.
Eight school systems in Maryland require a financial literacy course for graduation, said Allen Cox, managing director for the Maryland Coalition for Financial Literacy, which advocates for the requirement.
High schools should be teaching students how to manage credit cards, navigate contracts, avoid identify theft and fraud ? what Cox called “life skills.”
“We need our kids better ready when they graduate high school to go out in the real world and tackle these financial issues,” Cox said.
Baltimore, Carroll and Harford counties include personal finance in the graduation requirements, and Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County offer it as an elective, according to the coalition.
Howard school officials plan to include financial literacy in the 10th-grade American Government course next year, and the lessons are also included in some business and math elective classes, said county schools spokeswoman Patti Caplan.
“Everyone will get it, but it does not limit their elective choices in high school,” she said.
At Howard Community College?s Kids on Campus summer program, the financial classes start well before students hit high school graduation. This year, three new courses will target elementary, middle and high school students.
“If they have a real scope of it from the time, they are little. It?s something to build on,” said Kids on Campus Director Sara Baum.
