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September 25, 2025
Dear Chair Santana and Vice Chair Mejia,
On behalf of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and our 1,200 members, I write to provide comments on Docket #0318, “Order for a hearing to discuss financial literacy programs in Boston Public Schools.” We would like to thank you for holding a hearing on this important issue. The ability for students to understand the basics of personal finance, budgeting, investing, credit, and other components of financial literacy is critical to their career success and ability to build wealth. According to a 2023 study from the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College, “financial education improves credit scores, reduces delinquency rates, reduces the use of alternative financial services, and shifts students from high-interest to low-interest methods of financing a college education.
The Chamber has been a proud partner of Boston Public Schools (BPS) on critical issues facing businesses, residents and students. Most recently, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation and BPS formed a Workforce Advisory Committee (WAC) comprised of senior level leaders from the business community, education and workforce nonprofits, BPS, and the City of Boston. Through this collaboration two priorities were identified: the Principal Partners program (relaunched in April 2025) and encouraging the adoption of financial literacy curriculum.
The Chamber Foundation and BPS established a Financial Literacy Working Group that is developing a shared vision for financial literacy coursework that incorporates experiential learning opportunities for students to connect with business and financial professionals. Between April to June 2025, the Chamber Foundation connected nine professionals from four companies to five classrooms at three different high schools (John D. O’Bryant School of Math & Science, Brighton High School, and Dearborn STEM Academy), reaching more than 80 students. Topic areas included investing in the stock market, basics of everyday banking, and best practices for building credit. The Chamber Foundation’s goal is to increase the number of professionals volunteering to support financial literacy education and to reach 700+ students by the end of the 2025-26 school year.
Identifying logical times and opportunities within the school day for business and financial professionals to support financial literacy education will be key to its continued growth. Business and financial professionals can support financial literacy education as part of existing academic courses (such as math), advisory periods, CTE courses, and other college and career pathways courses. They can also be seamlessly integrated into standalone financial literacy courses, like the A.P. Business Fundamentals/Personal Finance course launching in the 2026-27 school year.
Regardless of the specific circumstances in which business and financial professionals participate, their expertise is most impactful when connected to high quality financial literacy curriculum that reaches students. The Chamber supports the adoption of financial literacy curriculum and would encourage you and your colleagues to explore implementation.
Thank you for your attention and please reach out with any questions.
Sincerely,
James E. Rooney
President & CEO
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