Student programs promote financial literacy

KNOW YOUR DOUGH HELPS YOUTH MAKE THAT BREAD

Opening a birthday or holiday card to find cash is always a welcome surprise. In my younger years, a crisp fivedollar bill was more than enough to cover my major expenses: bubble gum and ice cream cones.

These days, I still spend more than I would like to admit on ice cream cones, and $5 doesn’t begin to cover Colorado’s living expenses. However, growing up with some small opportunities to save and spend helped me learn the value of a dollar, and also how to stretch it. Buying bubble gum in bulk was like trading stock at the school lunch table, for example.

I didn’t receive formal money management education until I enrolled in accounting as an elective my junior year of high school. So I developed budgeting skills and received financial education through trial and error my first year of working as a waitress. In fact, for the majority of today’s adults, formal finance education was absent from standardized public school curriculum.

Fortunately, more states across the U.S., including Colorado, have introduced personal finance education into classroom curriculum in the last decade. Locally, the nonprofit organization Know Your Dough, supported in part by the City of Durango Support Funding Grant, develops programming to distribute financial education to students in the Four Corners region.

Established in 2013 by Allison Andersen and Paul Gervais, Know Your Dough aims to deliver quality personal finance knowledge, promote practical, short- and long-term financial literacy and empower students to gain financial independence and security.

Executive Director Kathy Wilson said the nonprofit collaborates with the local school district and other educational institutions to provide programs designed for different age groups. As the only staff member of the small organization, Wilson develops the programs, raises funds, and manages marketing efforts. She also recruits and trains volunteers to lead programs.

The curriculum is designed to grow with the students, Wilson said. For early elementary students, Never Too Young introduces children to needs and wants through hands-on activities and interactive discussions. Upper elementary students begin to develop the economic and mathematical skills

associated with spending and saving money in the Feed the Pig program.

To build on previous lessons in financial literacy, Wilson said The Money Game is an opportunity for middle school students to practice skills like decision making and goal setting while learning to be more financially independent.

To track student progress, teachers distribute a pre-test and post-test with identical questions to measure lesson comprehension and individual improvement. The questions are split into two sections, behavioral and skills, to assess the impact of specific activities and lessons.

Wilson said these youth programs are important to helping students develop a realistic relationship with finances and assess areas that need improvement. Moreover, the results of the post-test indicate that students often exhibit a better understanding of healthy financial behaviors. So she adapted her programs to continue to reach students in the region at the onset of the pandemic.

According to the 2020-2021 Know Your Dough Impact

Report, the nonprofit presented classes to at least 10 different educational institutions using a combination of three delivery methods: in-person, teacher-led online and remote online. Students that participated in Know Your Dough programs last year increased their financial literacy skills 32% on average in just one week.

Know Your Dough programs establish a foundation for a stronger financial future that allows children to grow and work here, own businesses and contribute to the community, Wilson said. Programs are designed to be easy to implement in any classroom, and post program surveys indicate 100% of students would recommend this program to their peers.

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Know Your Dough provides education in Durango and Bayfield public schools, in addition to Fort Lewis College, Durango Adult Education Center and the Boys and Girls Club of La Plata County. Educators and instructors can reach out to Know Your Dough to incorporate its programs into your 2022 curriculum.