Personal finance literacy has never been more relevant than it is today.

The virus has disrupted the finances of many and left us wondering how to navigate our economic obligations.

Before the pandemic, studies found poor financial literacy is detrimental. Without knowledge of loans, credit, taxes and retirement, we feel anxious about money and end up in debt that is difficult to overcome.

Many states have tried to inject personal finance into their education standards. Yet this approach may not be enough.

45 states have at least included personal finance in K-12s but only 21 of those actually require students to take a finance course.

15 of the 21 – including South Carolina – simply integrate personal finance into another course, such as social studies or math.

Unfortunately only 6 states require a personal finance class before graduation.

As SC schools begin new personal finance academic standards, we know that preparing teachers to share these critical skills with students is vital. That’s why, having worked together for many years to support K-12 financial literacy, we saw the opportunity for a collaboration.

In January 2020, the State Treasurer’s Office, through its Future Scholar College Savings Plan, and SC Economics – a statewide non-profit dedicated to providing training, tools and resources for K-12 teachers in economic education and financial literacy – launched a program to bring personal finance education into classrooms.

The SC Financial Literacy Master Teacher Program is a bold, innovative initiative to energize teachers about the importance of including personal finance in their curriculum by providing financial incentives, tools and training since many do not feel equipped to teach these lessons.

The SC Financial Literacy Master Teacher Program offers educators’ personal professional growth while increasing their confidence to teach financial literacy.

Educators selected to participate must pass the national W!SE Financial Literacy Certification exam, participate in financial literacy professional development and lead financial literacy training workshops.

Workshops allow them to share best practices and learning adaptations with other educators so that financial literacy lessons can be taught at all grade levels. Educators are compensated for participation.

As teachers progress through Bronze, Silver and Gold training, they receive more incentives for their work as they take on more training and teaching requirements.

The program is already having a strong impact. Our first cohort comprised 36 educators from 24 high, 9 middle and 3 elementary schools – and 22 school districts.

In 6 months, the 36 trained 320 teachers, reaching an estimated 32,000 students.

We adapted to a virtual platform to continue to provide this financial literacy education in SC for the foreseeable future. With its unique structure that emphasizes teacher training, we think the SC Financial Literacy Master Teacher Program will serve as a national model for other states to follow.

We are grateful to our teachers and their participating schools and districts.