In April of this year, the Government of Alberta said it was releasing a call for proposals totalling $1 million to deliver financial literacy programming to junior and senior high school students this fall. 

Today (July 14) they announced the two successful applicants from that call for proposals.

Alberta Education says that students in grades 7-12 will receive the knowledge and skills they need to better understand saving, budgeting, spending and investing through partnerships with Enriched Academy and the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education.  Both organizations are said to have successful track records of delivering high-quality and engaging financial literacy resources to Canadian students.

Enriched Academy will receive $700,000 to deliver the program while the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education will receive $300,000. 

Alberta Education Minister Adriana LaGrange said financial literacy for students is a commitment the government made to Albertans and it's important for students to have those skills both inside and outside the classroom.   

“In the upcoming school year, many students will learn about concepts such as costs, interest, debt, investing, insurance, and how the economy can affect their lives," LaGrange said.  

The two organizations will provide grades 7-12 students with a variety of opportunities to learn about financial literacy topics, such as money management, budgeting, credit and student loans. The programming will serve Alberta’s diverse student populations in both urban and rural communities, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit students. Both organizations will also provide professional learning opportunities for teachers and school leaders, including additional resources to facilitate financial literacy learning.

The government said financial literacy is an essential part of everyday life, and younger students in Alberta also need to develop the important skill. Alberta Education will continue with a program to teach students in grades 3 - 6 financial literacy resources and programming through a renewed $200,000 grant for Junior Achievement.

Alberta Education said while Alberta’s current curriculum provides no emphasis on financial literacy, it is an important component in Alberta’s controversial draft Kindergarten to Grade 6 curriculum which the majority of school boards across the province have said they will not pilot in classrooms this fall. Rocky View Schools has said it won't pilot the draft curriculum this fall but will provide feedback to the government.   The Alberta Teachers Association calls the draft curriculum, "fatally flawed" and has said the government needs to start over and rewrite the draft.  

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