Ohio High Schools Financial Literacy

Junior Achievement (JA) impacts the lives of more than 100,000 K-12 students each school year across the State of Ohio. With the help of community volunteers students learn about the importance of making smart financial decisions, the value of entrepreneurship in our communities, and are introduced to career pathways so that they can uncover their passion in life. For over 100 years JA has provided a hands-on experiential learning curriculum that is designed to meet guidelines created by the Ohio Department of Education, and with the help of Peoples Bank in 2022 JA has updated their existing semester long high school financial literacy programing to meet a new graduation requirement from the State of Ohio.

During the fall of 2022 Ohio will become the 9th state to implement a semester long financial literacy course as a high school graduation requirement. For years JA has offered a semester long financial literacy course throughout Ohio at no cost to schools or students. JA Financial Literacy is a one-semester, teacher-led course that equips high school students with foundational personal finance skills. These skills include how to earn, save, and manage money; create a budget; manage bank accounts, investments, and credit; assess risks and use insurance; and address financial problems like identity theft and debt. Volunteers engage with students through a variety of activities that may include subject-matter guest speaking, coaching, or advising for case study and project coursework. In partnership with Peoples Bank, JA offices throughout Ohio have collaborated to update this proven program to align with the new state guidelines and will begin implementation during the 22-23 school year with the help of volunteers from Peoples Bank and other community partners. Peoples Bank donated ,000 to support this effort