By the Numbers

Tax season is underway, turning all of us, to some degree or another, into accountants for at least a day or two, maybe more. The truth is, being an American adult means having some degree of financial literacy, just to manage bank accounts and bills, not to mention investments, student loan bills, mortgages, taxes and retirement accounts.

Home economics has long been a mainstay in secondary education, but as two state officials noted last week in an op-ed piece published in Newsday, it’s time for a more intensive financial literacy program that teaches the basics of “personal finance, budgeting and investing.”

New York State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa and State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli penned the piece, saying, “Financial literacy should be taught in all New York schools.” The curriculum allows high school students to “become better equipped and informed to make important financial decisions in the future that could impact their long-term financial success and quality of life.” There’s a push in Albany to make such training a requirement for graduation.

They wrote: “Just as teens are required to take a driver’s education course before getting behind the wheel of a vehicle, we have a responsibility to empower students with the skills to effectively manage their finances before applying for a credit card, student loan or mortgage.”

A tip of the hat to the Hampton Bays School District, which is at the forefront of this movement. This school year, administrators there are creating a curriculum based on one at East Syracuse Minoa High School, which operates a student-run sector of the credit union that includes local teachers. Students take business and money management classes and operate a school branch of the credit union, where both staff and students can do their banking.

Hampton Bays will do the same, with plans to include more financial literacy offerings connected to the actual banking taking place on school grounds. It even will bring in middle and elementary school students by offering banking services for babysitting money and allowances — a modern-day update on school-based savings programs that debuted in the 19th century.

Every South Fork school should be following Hampton Bays into this important undertaking: providing all the skills kids will need to survive the monetary maze of adulthood.