During fieldwork, a case manager said something that’s stuck with me: “I need something I can reference when I’m trying to figure out where to send clients. Something that explains […]
The Adult Who Was Never There
Gutman and McLoyd’s research found something specific: children whose adults actively organized their engagement with school, institutions, and community resources developed measurably stronger academic self-efficacy than children whose adults were […]
Support, Challenge, Vision
I didn’t design our fifteen-month curriculum around a theory. I designed it around what I watched work, and only later found the theoretical language for it. Daloz (1999) describes effective […]
Redundant, and Ignored Anyway
Tout (1997) made an argument I think about often: the phrase “critical numeracy” shouldn’t need to exist. Real numeracy, properly defined, already includes critical thinking. Adding the word “critical” in […]
The Eviction Record
Story from the field: a real disconnect between curriculum and survival need. Anchored to: resident evaluation quote about needing housing help despite already knowing how to budget Before we redesigned […]
35% of Our Residents Have College Degrees
Here’s a number that should unsettle anyone who thinks financial literacy education is primarily about closing a knowledge gap: at Fresh Start Housing, roughly 35% of the residents who come […]
Why ‘budgeting skills’ isn’t the same as financial literacy.
“Janet’s 98th Percentile” When Janet entered our transitional housing program, she had a bachelor’s degree in business administration and fifteen years of corporate accounting experience. She could calculate compound interest […]