A little over 11 years ago, Tim Ranzetta, who I’d never met, convinced me in a single phone call that personal finance education should become my next career. My first three thoughts were:

1. Complete agreement with Tim’s idea that all kids deserve personal finance education
2. Regret that I’d never included personal finance lessons in my ten years as a high school teacher and principal
3. A passion to get started right away

And now, I’m leaving a job that’s been tremendously rewarding, intense, a true labor of love, once-in-a-lifetime, a huge learning curve, and impactful on a national level. When we started NGPF, only five states guaranteed that every high school graduate would learn personal finance, and now we’re at 29.

Where do I, Jessica, go professionally from here? I’m not sure — going to figure that out after I relax on my couch for a few weeks.

Where do I, Jessica, hope personal finance education goes from here? That’s easy…

1. By 2030, all 50 states guarantee a standalone Personal Finance course for all high schoolers.
2. Personal Finance courses remain the rewarding, enriching, joy-filled learning opportunities that NGPF has worked so hard to make them. Students should know that financial decision making is nuanced and messy and that’s ok. I never want to see this content reduced to click-through compliance modules or high stakes standardized testing.
3. Teachers feel 100% confident teaching Personal Finance content. NGPF will continue to offer the highest quality professional development, but I hope more schools of education catch on as well. What if every teacher prep program included the option to specialize in Personal Finance?
4. For me, it’s always been and will always be in service of students. Every single teen gets to be in a personal finance classroom that feels accessible, welcome, and fair. They learn from passionate, committed teachers, and they experience thoughtful lessons that challenge and expand their thinking. Students become fluent enough in personal finance that they feel OK in banking and investing spaces, and they are comfortable asking questions and generating discussion without feeling shame.

Honestly, I also hope that the larger education space takes note of what NGPF is creating and leans into NGPF's expertise so that more courses and content areas could also revolutionize teaching and learning for all students. Imagine that!

Tremendous gratitude from me to Tim; to all the past and present NGPF team members who have made me a better leader; and to the 125,000+ teachers who have trusted NGPF over the last decade and who are doing the hard work to improve the financial lives of the next generation.

With ambitious hopes for all of you,

Jessica

About the Author

Jessica Endlich

When I started working at Next Gen Personal Finance, it's as though my undergraduate degree in finance, followed by ten years as an educator in an NYC public high school, suddenly all made sense.

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