Find out how one key stakeholder made the difference in getting a guaranteed personal finance course at the Ukiah School in Ukiah, Oregon

The following post is one in a series of inspiring stories from NGPF's Gold Standard Challenge Grant Program which incentivizes high schools and districts to commit to ALL students taking personal finance courses before graduation. Learn more, and apply for your $2,500 to $30,000 Gold Standard Challenge Grant before the August 31, 2022 deadline here.

About Today's Guest Author

Teresa Veach is an educator at Ukiah School in Ukiah, Oregon. Their school is the 169th recipient of the Gold Standard Challenge grant. Here is Teresa describing Ukiah’s journey to the Gold Standard.

Describe a rough timeline for how you and/or your colleagues were able to advocate for personal finance to become a graduation requirement in your school/district. How long did it take? What were the major progress milestones?

The process of adding a personal finance requirement was rather easy. I talked to the Superintendent and lead teacher. This is a requirement that had been dropped and I felt seriously needed to be brought back. I feel that this was a reason it was easy to advocate for the requirement to be added again. This began last year, and this year it was adopted. It didn't hurt at all that a grant was attached. This aided in the process even more.

What challenges did you encounter in your efforts to make personal finance a graduation requirement, and what solutions did you find for these challenges?

At first, the superintendent was skeptical. Our lead teacher concurred with me, so it was addressed at a teacher's meeting, then brought to the school board. With the help of our lead teacher, we showed the superintendent that this is an important and necessary requirement we need for our students.

What/who were the "catalysts for change" that allowed your efforts to be successful?

When talking to other teachers and as presented to the board, we were all in agreement that this is necessary for our students. The grant was an extra bonus that gave the board an incentive to add the personal finance requirement.

Which stakeholders (students, parents, admin, business leaders, school board, etc) were helpful partners in your quest to make the graduation requirement happen?

I had many stakeholders that were helpful partners in my quest to make this happen. They included the teachers, the superintendent, and the school board. Without their help and approval, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

About the Author

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