Many students were thrilled to hear that the College and Career Exploration class, also known as CCE, would be removed as a graduation requirement. Many felt that the class was useless for freshmen, while others were simply happy to need one less graduation requirement going forward. However, for many, this excitement was premature. The class wasn’t simply being removed: it was being replaced.
CCE is a freshmen-year class that teaches students about opportunities after high school. Its removal is due to Senate Bill Three, which focuses on preparing students for the “real world” after graduating high school. SB3 introduces two new semester-long classes: a Personal Finance class and a “Higher Education Careers Pathway” class. Both courses will be required for seniors, starting with the graduating class of 2027, or current sophomores.
Few students know about the change in the requirements, which begs the question: Who made this decision, and why?
While students often feel like the decisions about their education are made by those with no involvement, two Ida B. Wells High School teachers and one substitute teacher (all in some way Finance-affiliated) have been deeply involved in this process. They have not only been discussing getting the bill passed but also deciding the actual content of the classes.
“The personal finance education course is designed and intended for all high school students to establish financial literacy before they depart high school,” said Ken Muroka, an IBW business & marketing teacher. But why are these things so important? While many current high schoolers weren’t alive for the 2008 market crash, it has thoroughly affected many of their families.
“People took out loans being told they could afford them and they could buy these awesome houses and finally families could own homes, which is one of the main American ideals. And it led to a global crisis triggered by a lack of American consumers’ financial literacy that banks took advantage of for profits,” Muroka said.
He believes that this class is a major step in the right direction.
“People will be armed with the information to—in theory—make better decisions, and it will reduce the opportunity for predatory practices that businesses and banks and corporations and profit-driven organizations try to leverage against undereducated consumers.”
“[I am on] the curriculum development team that will be designing the course in the next five or six months,” said Josh Winicki, an IBW finance teacher.
“We’ll be identifying appropriate curriculum to use which would be taken from, multiple different curriculums as well as probably having to write some tests or assessments.”
Winicki explained that these new classes will teach a myriad of things. “Five main topics will be taught: credit and debt; banking, investing, repayment and savings; budgeting, spending, and money management; personal income, taxes, and services; and finally, maintaining financial well-being,” Winicki said.
Many PPS teachers have favored a mandatory finance class for years. “My substitute, Mr. Tibbits was fairly active in getting this law passed,” Winicki said. Muroka echoed this excitement. “[Senate Bill 3] brings Oregon in line with other states that have already established this as a graduation requirement. It is not currently a federally required graduation requirement, but there is push for it to eventually become that.”
