How to Make School Relevant

Students at Ariel Community Academy, a K-8 School, on the South Side of Chicago, focus on financial literacy beginning in Grade 1. They are learning to think critically as they study personal finance in Grade 1, economics and personal finance in Grade 2, and monetary policy and what makes money work in Grade 3. Starting in Grade 4, teachers decide what will make the curriculum most relevant for their students as their cross-curricular studies focus on financial literacy.  Ariel Community Academy is a Title I school where the staff believes the financial literacy curriculum will assist Ariel’s students in breaking through the cycle of poverty. The program helps students learn critical life skills such as decision-making and planning. As a result, it has propelled Ariel’s test scores and the graduation rates and college matriculation rates of its former students above other students in both Chicago and Illinois.