Windham High teacher selected to teach financial literacy locally and nationwide by Matt Pascarella

Kelly-Anne Rush

Social Studies teacher Kelly-Anne Rush was one of the 24 teachers, out of over 200 nationwide, selected to attend the Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) summer institute workshop in California and become an NGPF fellow this past summer. She will spend this school year advocating for and promoting financial literacy in Maine and across the nation in her role as both a classroom teacher and a fellow.

NGPF is a free high-school personal finance curriculum and professional development partner helping teachers deliver essential money understanding in an easy-to-grasp, engaging way. WHS (Windham High School) is one of the first schools in the state to have a specific financial literacy course requirement for seniors to graduate. Rush believes financial literacy is an important skill and all students should have access to high quality instruction in this area.

During the summer institute, Rush came away with a lot of new curriculum ideas but also ways to advocate for financial literacy education. She has used the free curriculum resources (lessons, videos, assessments) from Next Gen Personal Finance in some of her financial literacy classes and her students love them.

 “My goal for the upcoming school year as a NGPF fellow is to not only continue to develop high quality, engaging lessons and activities for the students in my classroom but also to be an advocate for promoting financial literacy in Maine and across the country,” Rush stated. “I was very excited and honored to be chosen as a fellow and am excited to continue teaching and promoting financial literacy.”

Rush, a Windham native, has wanted to be a teacher for as long as she can remember. Her second-grade teacher, Mrs. Kelly Rich, was the real inspiration for choosing her career path. Rush credits the “American Girl” book series and dolls for instilling her first love of history. Toward the end of high school, she had an extremely energetic U.S. history teacher, Mr. Terry Christy, who inspired her to teach social studies.

She earned her B.S. in Secondary Education from the University of Maine and then earned her master’s from the University of New England in 2007.

Her first teaching job was as a long-term substitute at Lake Region High School in Naples. That position turned into a full-time position and she spent 8 years there before coming to Windham High.

“I really love the community and school district, so I made it a goal to apply for a teaching job [in Windham] when I saw one open up,” Rush explained. “RSU14 offers a tremendous amount of resources, support, and programs for students and staff which makes it a great place to live and work.”

In addition to teaching full time, Rush runs a blog and Instagram account called ‘Crafty Teacher Lady’, focusing primarily on teaching resources as well as home design. She renovates and ‘flips’ houses and furniture, too, and is a bargain shopper, always looking for good deals. She loves to travel and makes an effort to go somewhere new every year, mostly in search of the ‘world’s best donut.’