Mandatory course raises concerns

RICHMOND, Va. -- Next year's high school freshmen in Virginia will be required to take an economics and financial literacy course to graduate, but some educators worry that the new class will force students to drop electives such as art or band.

Others question the timing of adding a required course when many school divisions don't have money for new textbooks and materials.

The General Assembly approved the course as a graduation requirement in January, and the Virginia Department of Education adopted it in February. The state already has some Standards of Learning for economics and finance, which are taught as part of civics, economics and math courses.

Del. Lionell Spruill Sr., D-Chesapeake, who sponsored the legislation for the course, said he believed a financial literacy class was necessary because he met many students who had no clue about managing money.

"They didn't know how to keep a record or balance a checkbook," he said. "They were spending money on credit cards that they don't know they have to pay back."

The course, though, would go deeper into concepts such as supply and demand, the national deficit and consumer spending, as well as banking transactions, credit and loans, income taxes and personal budgeting.

School officials say these skills are important ones to teach students, but they question the timing.

Hanover County school officials approved the new course Tuesday night at their board meeting, but only after a lengthy discussion about how it will be implemented and at what cost to students. In Hanover, students are required to earn three social studies/history credits to graduate with a standard diploma and four credits for an advanced diploma.

Scott Baker, Hanover's director of curriculum and instruction, said the school division needs to figure out where in the curriculum it makes sense to include another required course and still allow students to earn enough social studies credits. Additionally, students shouldn't have to choose between an elective of their choice and the state-mandated course.

More than once, board members asked, somewhat begrudgingly, if they had to adopt the requirement.

"It's a state mandate," Hanover Superintendent Stewart D. Roberson repeated several times, but he added that he's concerned about funding the course during a tough budget season. New courses bring additional costs for textbooks and materials, but the division doesn't yet have estimates for what those might be.

Earl E. Shaffer Jr., band director at Chesterfield County's Cosby High School, echoed Roberson's thoughts, saying he's concerned that with budget shortfalls some teachers may lose their jobs if school districts have to hire more teachers to teach the financial literacy course. Students already have a tight schedule, he added.

"We're piling so much stuff that they don't have time to explore," he said. "You will be forcing kids out of electives such as band, chorus and art, which is a horrible thing to do."

Only Richmond Public Schools plans to offer the economics course starting next fall. Henrico County, Chesterfield and Hanover are still deciding whether to have an online or summer course, or offer it starting in the 2011-12 school year. The delay is due, in part, to waiting for the state to create the curriculum framework, which school officials expect will happen early next year.

Joseph Tylus, Chesterfield's director of high schools, told the county School Board recently that the new course could be offered in ninth and 10th grades for students seeking a standard diploma when they don't have to take world history. For those seeking an advanced diploma, the course could be offered in 11th or 12th grades, when students don't have to take physical education.

Tylus said Chesterfield would likely need four teachers to teach 20 sections of the class in each high school.

Suzanne Mallory-Parker, an instructional specialist for performing arts in Chesterfield, said she hopes the school division offers many opportunities, such as summer classes, so students would continue to take music, arts and other elective courses.

"It would have an impact on our program, no doubt about that," she said. "But until we have a better handle on it, we don't know how much."

Del. R. Lee Ware Jr., a representative of the 65th District in Powhatan County and parts of Chesterfield, is opposed to the mandate and said he will be introducing a bill in next year's General Assembly to stop it. He teaches history and government at Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot Academy in Powhatan.

"It's going to be very difficult" to repeal that mandate, he told PTA representatives in Chesterfield earlier this week.

Contact Juan Antonio Lizama at (804) 649-6513 or jlizama@timesdispatch.com.

Contact Holly Prestidge at (804) 649-6945 or hprestidge@timesdispatch.com.