This often takes the form of funding small loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries through organizations like Opportunity International or Kiva. A critical component of the One Hen curricula comes at the end of the process: creating a virtuous cycle by sharing a portion of studentsвЂ™ profits with the broader community. Over the course of several sessions, the concepts of cost, revenue, profit, and interest come alive as students create business teams, develop a product or service to sell, receive $10 loans with 10 percent interest, market and sell their products, and repay their loans. ( This financial-literacy program teaches late elementary and middle school students about business through the stories of successful young entrepreneurs combined with the actual experience of running a small business. This past year, for example, the Wellesley Middle School reinforced basic financial math through adoption of the One Hen curricula.

Indeed, even without a mandate, many schools are already teaching financial literacy and are choosing or creating curriculum that works well for their individual classrooms. That does not necessarily mean that this localized approach is not effective, just hard to quantify in an increasingly data-driven climate. This decentralization can make it challenging for the Joint Committee to know what is being taught, when, and with what outcome. вЂњThere are several districts that have chosen not to follow the MCAS guidelines, to teach courses, particularly in the sciences in high school, according to their preferred sequence, even if means that their students will be tested on material they may not cover until the following year,вЂќ Peisch explained. ItвЂ™s part of our tradition we have 350 cities and towns that all have independent forms of government.вЂќДЄlthough the MCAS have provided a statewide framework for education, it is still up to each district to determine how they will teach to those guidelines. вЂњWe tend to keep decision-making very local. вЂњNew England in general differs from the rest of the country with respect to the governance structure of education,вЂќ Peisch said. But there is another important reason: the Commonwealth does not typically mandate curriculum, except for civics and physical education. вЂњWe try to avoid unfunded mandates,вЂќ said Peisch, recognizing that one of the unintended consequences of well- meaning legislation is the cost of implementation born by local governments that are already facing budget deficits. Many states have chosen the first option however, Massachusetts is not among them.

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