Sharon Public Schools receive state grant for financial literacy programs

Commissioner of Education Jeffrey C. Riley recently announced that Town of Sharon has been awarded a FY24 Financial Literacy Planning and Implementation Grant.

This $14,960 state grant supports school districts in selecting and/or developing curriculum, providing professional development and creating meaningful learning experiences for students related to financial literacy such as financial literacy fairs or guest speaker programs.

The Sharon Public Schools will use the funds for three new high school courses - Financial Literacy, Personal Finance and Business Finance.

The grant will fund materials, professional development, and be used towards teacher work time to develop the courses. The high school team will be working during the spring and summer to develop the courses.

“This is to offer new courses in an area we find there is a need,” Math Coordinator Tina Kelly said. “This year we were able to offer Intro to Business and we think the new business finance course will be a great compliment to that.”

Kelly wrote the grant application with support from Amy Belhumeur, social studies coordinator for grades 6-12, and Angela Burke, director of curriculum and instruction.

“This is a collaboration between the social sciences and math departments,” Kelly said. “We are excited to be able to have the opportunity to offer these courses to students.”

The Sharon Public Schools previously received a Financial Literacy Planning and Implementation Grant which was used to support a financial literacy fair.

These grants will support professional learning and the development and or/selection of materials and curriculum that equip teachers to fully and effectively implement the personal financial literacy standards that Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE) updated in 2018.