DE PERE, Wis. (WFRV) – Beginning with the 2028 graduating class, every high schooler will have to take a personal finance course in order to graduate. Governor Tony Evers signed the requirement into law in December, but it wasn’t without the help of local educators.
Kerri Herrild has been teaching personal finance as an elective at De Pere High School for 18 years. A passionate educator, Herrild has fought to pass a law that requires every high school student in the state of Wisconsin to complete one semester of personal finance before graduating.
“We have been working at a state level now for about two and a half years to get this as a state-wide high school graduation requirement,” said Herrild.
In 2022, Herrild went to the state capitol in Madison with other educators from across the state to testify in support of the requirement.
“I never ever would have thought that I would be testifying to Congress at the state level to say why a law should be passed,” expressed Herrild. “But when this opportunity came up to be part of this group to get this requirement mandated in every state by 2030, I immediately jumped on board with them along with 3 other teachers from around the state, students, and financial professionals and to be there on December 6th when Governor Evers signed this Bill into Law was a highlight of my career.”
Kerri Herrild repeated the phrase “When you know better, you can do better” to Local Five’s Samantha Petters to emphasize how crucial this requirement is for teaching her students valuable lessons that will benefit them beyond their high school years.
“Students want to learn this information, they want to understand how to deal with money, they know that they need to, and they’re hungry for the knowledge,” explained Herrild. “It’s exciting to see students engage in this class and grab on to what we’re teaching because they see the direct relevance it has.”
Throughout the required financial literacy course, students will learn six essential skills:
- Financial Mindset
- Education and Employment
- Money Management
- Saving and Investing
- credit and debt
- Risk Management and Insurance
Herrild said she has seen her students having “ah-ha” moments as they grasp the concepts throughout the semester.
“This is a great example. I can still picture the student and see her face saying this to me last spring,” beamed Herrild. “We were our third day into class, and she said to me, ‘Oh my gosh, Mrs. Herrild, I have learned more information that I can use in my first 3 days of this class than I have learned in the last year and a half of math!’”
In addition to just helping her students understand the concepts now, she believes it will help them make better financial decisions in the future and, in turn, help build a better economy.
“As they’re grasping these lessons, then they can go home and share that knowledge with their parents and help their parents make better financial decisions,” said Herrild. “And really, as a state, it benefits us to not have individuals, individual families to not be carrying huge amounts of debt, it’s better for our state economy.”
As of this year, 25 states have passed a Law to guarantee a standalone personal finance course for high school students. Wisconsin was the 24th state, and Pennsylvania followed in December of 2023.
