This document provides an overview of an 8-week financial literacy course offered by Five Keys Charter School. The course aims to teach students about the history of money and financial systems in the United States and give them practical skills for personal money management. Topics covered include banking, understanding and improving credit reports, preventing identity theft, financial planning for retirement, and doing income taxes. The part of the course on doing income taxes has proven popular with students and could potentially lead to career opportunities in tax preparation. Exams are also part of the course to test the skills learned.

1. FINANCIAL LITERACY
An 8-Week Course Offered by Five Keys Charter School
Instructor / Curriculum Designer: JUSTIN VYOR (BA, AA, 5 credentials)
COURSE OVERVIEW & PURPOSE
Why offer a course in Financial Literacy?
“Money makes the world go around . . . a mark, a yen, a buck, a pound!”
That's not just a line in a song from the musical Cabaret. Increasingly in modern society, it
seems to be a reality that affects so many other aspects of life, both professionally and
personally.
Money (particularly the American system of money) has a history, from Colonial times
and the Founding Fathers, through the creation of the somewhat mysterious Federal
Reserve System and its controversial beginnings; and onward to modern-day Wall Street
and today's complex financial markets.
And so the more students understand where the concept of money comes from, how it has
evolved in American society, and how it effects them personally, the more regard they'll
have for the importance of competently conducting their personal financial lives, and the
greater comfort and knowledge they'll have to stabilize, improve and take control of their
financial situations – and hence a have a greater stake in lawful society.
After laying a foundation in the early part of this 8-week course re. the history of money,
our offering of topics then proceeds into practical aspects of personal money management
and financial skills which can benefit students. These include the basics of personal
banking (savings/checking accounts, CDs, interest, account fees, etc.); how to obtain, read
and clean-up one's personal credit report from the 3 major reporting bureaus; combating
the prospect of identity theft (a very real and pervasive danger in modern life); and some
basics about personal financial planning for one's retirement.
The part of the course which has proven most popular among students, however, is an
introduction to income taxes and a rigorous exposure to filing their personal taxes in a
variety of scenarios (based on marital status, dependents, exemptions, etc.) Many students
have shown not only interest but also talent and career potential in this area. We offer these
skill-building exercises in the belief that not only will students feel able to calculate and
file their own income taxes (from in- or outside of jail), but can even pursue further studies
and tax prep courses and earn an impressive seasonal income preparing taxes for
companies such as Jackson Hewitt, Liberty Tax Services and H&R Block during the yearly
tax season. For some, it might be the start of new, productive and honest career!
A midterm and final exam (which include skills tests) are also part of the course.