Harris County teachers will be equipped to teach a new high school course called “financial mathematics” through a $19,000 grant provided to Harris County Department of Education’s Teaching and Learning Center through the Texas Financial Education Endowment.

The teacher’s training project provides assistance to 70 high school math and career and technical education educators in all 25 Harris County districts. The training program implemented by HCDE’s Learning Center is called “New Course, New Challenges: Tackling Texas Financial Literacy through Financial Mathematics Professional Development.”

The new personal money management course fulfills a third-year math credit for students in grades 11-12. The course may be taken instead of algebra 2. Math competencies related to real-world experiences include some of the following: net pay, income taxes, mortgage payment calculation, property taxes, mortgage insurance, closing costs and interest costs.

“We will be helping Harris County high schools to offer this course to their students,” said Nicole Shanahan, HCDE math curriculum director who will lead the project. “Through the course, students apply critical thinking skills to analyze personal financial decisions based upon the current and project economic factors,” she said.

HCDE will collaborate with a financial industry expert to design six lessons of the financial mathematics. The six-module content includes employment earnings, federal taxes, financial institutions and accounts, types of credit, investment options and retirement plans, and types of insurance. Teachers gain the six lessons to teach the course through a one-day, six-hour workshop offered through HCDE.

The financial mathematics grant was written through HCDE’s Center for Grants Development. It will be implemented beginning Jan. 1, 2018 through Dec. 31, 2019. Teachers interested in the training may email Nicole Shanahan, nshanahan@hcde-texas.org.