WHS teacher named distinguished educator for personal finance organization

By Lorraine Glowczak

Windham High School teacher Jen Chilton has taken her professional development to the next level, making an investment in her students’ futures. Recently recognized as a Distinguished Educator by Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF), a national nonprofit dedicated to bringing personal finance education to students, Chilton, who teaches Senior Personal Finance and Citizenship is deepening her knowledge and bringing those lessons into the classroom.

Windham High School teacher Jen Chilton
has completed 90 in-service hours to renew
her teaching certificates and in doing so 
obtained six NGPF certifications, each of
which requires nine hours of live,
collaborative coursework on a key
finance topic and passing a one-hour
certification exam, earning her special
educator recognition. 
SUBMITTED PHOTO    

Maine teachers must complete 90 contact or in-service hours every five years to renew their teaching certificates. Chilton has earned six NGPF certifications, each of which requires nine hours of live and collaborative coursework on a key personal finance topic and passing a one-hour certification examination.

“I was looking for meaningful professional development that would directly pertain to my work in the classroom,” she said. “This requirement presented an opportunity for me to pursue professional development that would benefit and help prepare students for the financial decisions they will face in the future.”

Now in her 22nd year, Chilton began her first 18 years at WHS teaching freshmen geography and Foundations of World History classes. Then the opportunity to teach seniors and the Senior Personal Finance and Citizenship classes came her way.

“I have really enjoyed the transition to the seniors, especially teaching a topic that they will interact with on a daily basis,” Chilton said.

Often referred to as, “Personal Finance,” the class became a requirement to graduate in 2013. It is a semester-long class that all students take in their senior year. The units include Citizenship, College and Career, Banking: Checking and Savings, Credit: Loans and Credit Cards, and Financial Obligations.

The NGPF curriculum inspired Chilton to deepen her knowledge of the topics she teaches.

“From the courses offered by NGPF I decided to take Behavioral Economics, Credit, Taxes, Banking and Budgeting, Insurance, and Paying for College all in an effort to expand my knowledge on the topics,” Chilton said.

Chilton says that the world current graduates are entering is financially challenging and she wants to give them the best possible start.

“I want them to truly understand what using a credit card means and how their vote matters,” she said. “I am so happy that we require this course for our students. When people ask what I teach and I tell them the reaction I get is, ‘I wish they taught that class when I was in school.’”

Among the many subjects the class explores, a few activities include looking at how an individual’s credit score impacts borrowing power.

“Students look at buying a car and a house. Then we do the math based on three different credit scores,” she said. “It is pretty eye opening for them to see how much more you pay in interest based on your credit score. I am transparent with my students too. We look at my pay stub, credit score, and credit card statements so they can see what each actually looks like. We also have a realtor, mortgage broker, investment banker and insurance guest speakers.”

Chilton said that WHS students are fortunate that the district has prioritized Senior Personal Finance and Citizenship.

“Many schools in Maine do not have a stand-alone class; they attempt to embed the topics in other social studies classes to meet the Social Studies Standards of Personal Finance and Civics and Government. Organizations like NGPF, JumpStart Coalition and FAME have been working hard to get the legislation passed to make it a requirement. The fact that we as a district believed it was a valuable course and added it to our graduation requirements makes Windham an excellent school and community to be a part of.” <