NEWYORK: New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga, and New York City Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos today unveiled key details of the Adams administration’s “financial literacy for youth” (FLY) initiative to make sure that every public school student can learn how to save and spend money by 2030.
As part of announcement, Mayor Adams unveiled the first 15 public school districts to receive financial educators, who will provide students and their families with free counseling and workshops starting this upcoming school year.
Financial educators will also help develop classroom resources to build responsible financial habits. Financial educators will have specialized skills in leading workshops and trainings, as well as experience working with young people and families; they will support teachers and families to foster a financially-healthy environment for all school children.
More than 350,000 public school students and family members will be served by financial educators through counseling, workshops, and other resources in the first five years of the program.
Ultimately, the Adams administration will place a financial educator in every single district by 2030 as part of its FLY initiative, making New York City one of the first public school systems in the United States to deploy financial educators directly to schools and support students with this valuable resource.
First announced in Mayor Adams’ state of the city address earlier this year, FLY will also pilot in-school banking to give students real-world exposure to safe and affordable banking options and explore additional ways to give students hand-on experience learning about saving and managing money.
“Making New York City the best place to raise a family means giving our young people the tools to succeed. Too many students leave high school knowing about chemical bonds but not Treasury Bonds; they learn how to do complex calculus but not how to do their taxes — that ends with our administration,” said Mayor Adams.
“To succeed in the 21st century, students need to learn how to do both, which is why we set an ambitious goal of making sure that every public school student can learn how to save and spend money by 2030. Today’s announcement will help us reach that goal — giving students, their family members, and their teachers the resources to succeed. This time next year, when students in these 15 districts have a question about opening a bank account or buying their first stock, they’ll have a valuable new tool to use. We’re not stopping there though; soon, we’ll bring these counselors to every district and expand our Financial Literacy for Youth initiative to set even more of our public school students on the path towards success.”
“Helping our young people start early in building a foundation of financial literacy is a key component of our administration’s efforts to invest in New Yorkers and their economic potential,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Adolfo Carrion, Jr.
“I am thrilled to see the FLY initiative take off in the coming academic year and look forward to seeing a culture of financial empowerment spread into all corners of our city’s public school system. Congratulations to the teams at 5”the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and at New York City Public Schools for leading the charge on this important investment in our future.”
“The best way to set our children up for financial success is to prevent them from making the same financial mistakes that we’ve all made in our lives, but for too long, young people have been left out of our efforts to financially empower New Yorkers,” said DCWP Commissioner Vera Mayuga.
“With ‘FLY,’ we will make sure our that city’s children are able to reach for the clouds and soar toward their financial goals. Thank you to Mayor Adams and to Chancellor Aviles-Ramos for partnering with us to help our young people secure their financial futures.”
“Financial literacy is a fundamental life skill that sets our students up for success,” said Public Schools Chancellor Aviles-Ramos.
“Programs like ‘FLY’ will equip our students with the knowledge to make informed decisions about saving, spending, and investing, helping them become confident in making financial decisions. This program also builds upon the existing financial literacy curriculum over 15,000 students are receiving in our 135 FutureReadyNYC high schools. We are grateful for Mayor Adams and Commissioner Mayuga’s commitment to ensuring this core skill is a part of every student’s education.”
The Adams administration is taking an innovative and multi-pronged approach to give young people the tools they need to build healthy financial habits and set them on a path to success in adulthood. In the coming school year, DCWP will deploy financial educators to 15 select public school districts to provide counseling and lead workshops for school children and their families.
