On a mission for student financial literacy

Teacher. Learner. Advocate. Kerri Herrild is a wonderfully passionate educator who has been teaching personal finance as an elective at De Pere High School since 2006. Her excitement about her job and how she helps students is contagious.

Through the efforts of Kerri and teachers like her, students, and other advocates, Wisconsin became the 24th state to guarantee a personal finance course for all high school students starting with the graduating class of 2028.

We sat down with Kerri to learn more about her experience in helping make this new law a reality, her advice on resources for teaching a financial literacy course, and her tips for becoming more financially secure in your own life.

Why are you interested in personal finance and why do you think it’s important?

I was fortunate enough to grow up with parents who talked to each other, and to us kids, about finances on a regular basis. We had to work to earn our allowance, then save half of that allowance. Once our piggy banks were full, we would bring our savings passbook to the bank and make a deposit.

As we were older and got jobs, they continued to teach us the value of saving and budgeting. We paid for our first cars and our insurance. That gave us a sense of responsibility from very early on.

The topic of personal finance is important to me, because even with that upbringing, I still had a lot to learn. Many students don’t have the same experience and education I had at home, so they are at a major disadvantage when it comes to making sound financial decisions.

What do you teach in your personal finance class?

In my class we cover the following units:

• Banking and Budgeting.
• Taxes.
• Investing.
• Insurance.
• Paying for College.
• Credit.

How do you think your class impacts students?

I have seen students set up Roth IRAs, choose more affordable colleges, and put personal budgets into action. I have heard from parents about how excited the students are to share what they are learning in class, and that they are asking questions at home about how their household finances work. This course engages students, prompts important conversations at home, and makes a financial difference for both students and their parents.

Tell us about your experience testifying to the Wisconsin Congress about a required financial literacy course. Why did you choose to participate?

I feel very strongly about the importance of educating students about their personal finances. For 18 years I advocated for this course requirement at a local level, and because of the challenges faced in education, it just never happened. I knew that to make this course a requirement for my own students, and thousands of others in Wisconsin, it had to happen at the state level. As soon as I heard about the efforts to make it a statewide graduation requirement, I was in.

I never have seen myself as a political person, and I certainly never thought I would testify at the Capitol for something that I believed in. Now looking back, I could not be more proud to be part of the testimonies given by students, fellow teachers, and financial professionals. My own daughter testified as a freshmen to the Senate Committee on Education. That will forever be a huge moment of pride for both of us!

What has impacted you the most with this experience?

The student and parent feedback keeps me wanting to continue learning and sharing the best and most effective advice with students. I spent two days of my personal summer break connecting with fellow educators to learn more about the content and best teaching practices in financial education at Next Gen Personal Finance’s FinCamp (NGPF FinCamp) in June at Edgewood College. Becoming part of a nationwide community of financial educators who are as passionate as I am has reinvigorated my career.

Now that Act 60 has been passed, I am all in on helping schools and teachers implement the new requirement with high quality instruction.

What advice do you have for those who will be teaching personal finance to kids?

With Act 60 going into effect for the class of 2028, there will be many educators who will be “volun-told” to teach this course. There will be other teachers who have wanted to teach this and now have the opportunity to do so. Either way, what makes this course engaging and successful is when an educated and excited teacher is leading it. There are tons of curriculum resources out there (some much better than others), but the difference lies in the teacher leading the course.

With that, my advice to teachers is to look into professional development opportunities, join FinLit Fanatics on Facebook, and start mingling with other finance teachers. We are fortunate to have a strong coalition of financial literacy teachers in our state who are more than willing to collaborate and help new teachers—including me! Sign up for blogs, look for forums online, and jump in!

Any favorite personal finance resources you use that you think would help other teachers?

By far, the best financial literacy resource out there is Next Gen Personal Finance. With 26 states now requiring financial literacy for graduation, there are a lot of profit-motivated curriculum providers popping up. Skip those and start with NGPF. They have the best professional development opportunities I have ever had, top notch curriculum resources that are kept updated and created with good teaching methods in mind, and they are all customizable for your classroom. The best part? NGPF is free and always will be.

Alongside NGPF, I highly recommend Jump$tart Coalition. They have a huge library of free curriculum resources that are high quality and ready to use.

Jump$tart also hosts a National Educator Conference each year that you should definitely look into. This conference brings together financial experts and passionate educators. I have gained so many resources and knowledge, but most importantly, relationships with like-minded educators from around the country.

In addition, Member Benefits offers a free downloadable financial education game for the classroom, called Don’t Be Jack—High School Edition. It aligns with the Wisconsin Academic Standards for Personal Financial Literacy for grades 9-12. Visit the Don’t Be Jack—High School Edition game page to learn more and request it.

You have a 403(b) with Member Benefits. Why do you think it’s important to save for retirement?

Many parents are afraid to talk to their children about money. There is a level of shame that comes with past financial mistakes. I explain this to students and encourage them to ask questions at home, but to never judge someone on past mistakes. After all, we didn’t have this class, and when you don’t know better, you can’t do better.

In order to bridge that gap, the students see my paycheck, my Member Benefits 403(b) Dashboard Performance, and my net worth. We all need to be saving for retirement in accounts that we have control over. We know we can’t count on Social Security, and even our Wisconsin Retirement System isn’t in our control. We are very fortunate as Wisconsin educators to have a high quality pension plan, but we should have retirement savings that we are in charge of too.

You also have insurance with Member Benefits. How does that fit in to your financial picture and why do you think it’s important?

For years when it came to insurance, I wasn’t doing as I taught. I had gotten comfortable with a local insurance agent and just never got to shopping around. For almost 20 years! Seriously.

This past winter, as my husband and I reviewed our own budget, it was clear that we needed to make a change and find ways to save money on insurance. I followed the recommendation of a colleague who had recently switched to Member Benefits and was very happy.

My experience with my representative at Member Benefits was incredibly helpful and answered every single question that I had. We were able to determine how much insurance was right for us and create a plan designed to protect our assets while also fitting within our budget. It was a great experience, and I highly recommend giving them a call to talk through what they have to offer. They will tell you if you are getting a better deal than they can offer. They specialize in helping us as educators get the best coverage for the lowest cost.

What advice do you have for other educators and public school staff to help them build their own secure financial future?

Doing professional development to help me be a better educator has definitely improved my own personal finances. This applies as much to us as educators as it does for our students: When we know better, we can do better.

Member Benefits has great resources for educators and they are offered free or at a low cost. My advice is to start small and know that it’s never too late to start focusing on your financial future. Set up a 403(b) account, and even if you start with just $25 or $50 per paycheck, that adds up over time. You will realize that you learn to live without that money, and that as you begin budgeting, you can probably increase that per paycheck amount.

Personal finance comes down to individual decisions. With every small decision about what to buy or whether or not to go out to eat, keep your goals in mind—you can do this!

Profile

Kerri Herrild is currently in her 23rd year of teaching Business, with 21 of those in De Pere. From early in her career, personal financial literacy has been a passion, and she is a fierce advocate for teaching the subject to every high school student in Wisconsin. Kerri became a Next Gen Personal Finance Fellow in July 2017, received the Wisconsin Governor’s Financial Literacy Award in 2018, and has spoken at conferences around the country about teaching personal finance. Her career highlight has been watching Governor Evers sign Act 60 into law along with her family on December 6, 2023.

Kerri is supported by her husband Howard, children Katelynn and Quinn, and the furriest member of the family, Charlie. From March through October, you will probably find the Herrild family traveling in their Airstream. They have visited 37 states and traveled thousands of miles, making lots of great memories along the way.