This week, the Government of Alberta announced that it was releasing a call for grant proposals totaling $1 million with the organization or group of organizations that will receive the grant funds being tasked with working with schools to provide financial literacy programming to students starting in the fall of 2021.  

The government says the training will allow students to get the financial knowledge they need to better understand saving, budgeting, spending and investing.  They say students will study financial concepts such as costs, interest, debt, investing, insurance and how the economy affects their lives.  It says the call for grant proposals from organizations will lead to expanded learning opportunities for students in provincial classrooms. 

In a written statement, Board Chair Fiona Gilbert says they'll need more time to understand what opportunities the plan will provide to RVS students.  The statement from Gilbert reads:  

"We have just been made aware of this announcement and will need to better understand the potential opportunities this may provide for RVS students.

We appreciate government engaging with external partners to develop and refine financial literacy resources that schools can utilize when addressing financial literacy with students."

According to the government release, the call for grant proposals builds on successful current financial literacy programs, including those offered by Enriched Academy and Junior Achievement in the 2020/21 school year. These organizations have been working with 39,000 students in Grades 4 to 12 in the past year – in urban and rural communities.

Financial literacy was among recommendations from Alberta’s independent curriculum advisory panel. In their report, the panel noted students may leave Grade 12 without the basic skills necessary to transition successfully into life after high school. They recommended financial literacy, work readiness, wellness and goal-setting to enhance student learning.    

Financial literacy is also a key component of Alberta’s draft kindergarten to grade 6 curriculum, under the theme of practical skills. In the draft, all students will study financial literacy in all subjects and grades – from counting coins to creating a budget. 

RVS has said it won't pilot the draft curriculum this fall but will provide feedback to the government.  Superintendent Greg Luterbach said,  “In light of ongoing pandemic recovery efforts, we feel we can still provide meaningful feedback to government through expert teacher groups.”