With the help of a grant from Great-West Financial students in the Adams 12 Five Star School District will get a jump in personal financial literacy. The $207,000 grant will provide resources and economic professional development across grades kindergarten through 12th grade.

“Through this grant we are able to give teachers the tools and resources they need to teach students about PFL (personal finance literacy)” said Donna O’Brien, district social studies coordinator.

O’Brien said one teacher from each elementary school will receive PFL training, and will then train and support the other teachers in the schools. At the middle and high school levels, will receive recourse and professional development in PFL. O’Brien said 11 mini computer labs, with six computers each, will be installed in classrooms throughout the middle schools where students utilize the PFL curriculum.

“We are using a blended-learning model with the mini computer labs,” she said. “In a course of a 50-minute class period, students will rotate among stations, one of which would be at the computes.”

In the past, Great West Financial provided smaller grants just for teachers rather than for an entire district. But recently, the bank changed their approach and began offering larger district-wide grants.

Christina Frantz, senior manager at Great-West Financial said the grants are a way to invest in tomorrow’s business leaders by supporting programs in schools, like the one in Adams 12, to help students prepare for a successful financial future. She said with the help of some grant money, she hopes students in Adams 12 have the opportunity to build a strong foundation with financial knowledge so they will have the tools to achieve their financial goals later in life.

“Adams 12 has an incredible staff and working with them I feel confident that what they are doing is truly a unique program,” Frantz said.

Part of the grant money will go toward bringing in professionals in specialized fields to work one-on-one with teachers to offer professional development. O’Brien said the grant money will pay for teachers to have a sub during the trainings or pay the teachers in the summer to attend a training.

“This is just so exciting for us,” O’Brien said. “PFL is so important to teach our students and with this grant we are able to do that.”