Howe Sixth Graders Complete Financial Literacy Program

Thirty students at Howe School of Excellence in Chicago finished a six-week course on budgeting, saving, investing, and credit.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Financial Aid

Bold vector editorial illustration of three stacked coins topped by a single sprouting green shoot on a cream background, suggesting early financial growth. — Thirty Howe School of Excellence sixth graders in Chicago finished a six-week financial literacy course on budgeting, saving, investing, and credit. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Thirty sixth graders at Howe School of Excellence completed a six-week financial literacy program, the first Chicago Public Schools class to finish the DAISIE Foundation and Old National Bank initiative. The program covered budgeting, saving, investing, and understanding credit.

Why it matters

Organizers say the program exposes students to financial opportunities and knowledge they might not otherwise encounter at a young age. The initiative has reached hundreds of students across Chicago and Milwaukee.

The program ran for six weeks and provided Howe School's community with free access to more than 40 financial education lessons. Students earned DAISIE Bucks, a classroom currency, for participation and achievement, but the source does not report how many students completed each lesson.

The players

The DAISIE Foundation

A nonprofit that has spent the past decade supporting women, children, and families through scholarships and outreach, and partners on this financial literacy program.

Old National Bank

A regional U.S. bank that partners with The DAISIE Foundation and is providing free access to more than 40 financial education lessons to the Howe School community.

Emma Mitts

A Chicago alderwoman representing the 37th Ward and the city's deputy mayor for education and youth, who joined the Howe School graduation ceremony.

The details

Banking professionals were brought directly into classrooms to teach the program, which is a partnership between The DAISIE Foundation and Old National Bank. Students received prizes, including headphones, during a graduation ceremony that Chicago's deputy mayor for education and youth and 37th Ward Ald. Emma Mitts attended, hosted by FOX Chicago anchor Tia Ewing.

Program duration: six weeks
Graduation ceremony held recently, reported in November 2026

Culture Shift

This program extends the DAISIE Foundation and Old National Bank partnership, which has already reached students in Milwaukee, into Chicago Public Schools for the first time. It reflects a growing effort to teach financial skills to children in the classroom rather than leaving them to learn it later in life.

Families in Chicago can look to school-based financial education as a way for children to learn budgeting, saving, and credit basics at no cost to the household. Old National Bank's free access to more than 40 lessons offers a concrete resource for families interested in continuing the material at home.

The takeaway

Teaching budgeting and credit basics in the classroom gives students early exposure to skills many adults learn only after they face money decisions on their own. Families can revisit these same concepts at home to reinforce what children learn at school.