Hershey High School has added multiple new courses for students in the upcoming 2025-2026 school year. One of the major changes to the school’s curriculum is the addition of Personal Financial Literacy for high school juniors.
The course, which is required for next year’s juniors, will take place during one semester and give students who pass .5 credits. Juniors have the option to take the course in person or online, similar to how the school has organized its Health and Highway Safety courses throughout the past few years.
The addition of the course may seem like a nuisance for current sophomores struggling to find space in their schedule for courses that they want to take, but many upperclassmen believe that they would benefit from that course. In fact, due to popular demand, the school decided to offer the course to current juniors who want to take the class next school year.
Financial literacy is incredibly important for students who are entering the real world with little to no knowledge on the ability to understand financial management, as students leave the nest of their parents’ income into their own monetary independence. Students at Hershey High School can now access and understand finance concepts that will prepare them moving forward.
The United Way of the National Capital Area, from Washington D.C, exhibits that younger Americans, by themselves, owe over a trillion dollars in debt, with 70% of those born from 1981-1996, living paycheck to paycheck. The younger generation is clearly struggling to be financially independent, showing a lack of financial literacy being taught amongst students.
The nonprofit organization additionally adds that “without a solid financial foundation, our youth are more susceptible to predatory lending and costly errors in managing debts and expenses that can lead to lifelong financial inequity.” When a younger generation lacks the proper education surrounding economic stability, they are more at risk of being vulnerable to debt, low credit scores, and poverty.
Hershey High School has finally responded and has required a course for the next generation of students to be responsible for their own economic independence and developments. This class will easily become a great source for knowledge around the complex concept of financial independence, likely resulting in an increase of proper frugality among future HHS graduates.
Ultimately, the benefits of this course are going to be productive for the upcoming juniors and anyone else taking the class next year. It is incredibly rewarding for the future life skills of students to be able to take a financial literacy course while also having the opportunity to take other classes. Anyone one who wants to learn more about the new course can contact the school’s counselors who have made the executive decision among with many other members to improve students’ knowledge of financial literacy.
