The Manitoba government is rolling out a new compulsory Grade 9 math curriculum aimed at improving student performance and embedding financial literacy into the classroom, and the Portage la Prairie School Division is on board.
Superintendent Pam Garnham says students will benefit from learning real-life money skills at a younger age.
“Embedding financial literacy will bring relevant content for our students that will apply to their adult lives and make so that they're able to make informed financial decisions when they're adults,” notes Garnham. “So, it is a good addition to the curriculum.”
The province plans to pilot the course in select schools starting in September 2026, with full implementation scheduled for September 2027. The renewed course replaces the current version that includes an optional transitional math course. Instead, financial literacy will now be a key part of the main curriculum.
To further support financial literacy outcomes, the Manitoba government is also providing $65,000 to the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education to renew resources for teachers who deliver the new curriculum and offer educators updated tools and resources to integrate financial literacy into English language arts, social studies and mathematics curriculums in grades 4 through 10.
A head start in Portage
Garnham adds that Portage la Prairie schools are already ahead of the curve, having offered full-year Grade 9 math for several years. Students currently earn two math credits by pairing their Grade 9 math class with either a transitional math or Grade 10 consumer math course.
She says the addition of financial literacy at the Grade 9 level ensures that all students are introduced to concepts they’ll use later in life.
“It’s a great course because it talks about budgeting, taking out a car loan, mortgages. It looks at real applicable life activities that many of us in adulthood would be experiencing,” continues Garnham. “Even though you're taking applied or pre-calculus, you should try to fit that one in because it is a really good course for all students.”
Busy time in local schools
While curriculum changes are still a year away, students in Portage are already deep into a busy end-of-year schedule.
Grade 12 students are preparing for upcoming provincial exams in English, math and French, while younger students are taking part in spring activities across the division.
“We’re doing kindergarten readiness programming, welcome to kindergarten, powwows, feasts and celebrations,” remarks Garnham. “It’s really just nice to see. June is a fantastic month for a lot of great activities for students.”
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