A 501(c)(3) · Built in a California classroom

The personal finance course California asked for, designed by a career classroom teacher.

Nearly two decades teaching high school students, plus an early career in wealth management, went into every lesson of The Launchpad. Free, mapped to Ed Code § 51284.5, no bank sponsors.

  • Six units
  • Live teacher dashboard
  • Pre/post learning data, 368 students
See the AB 2927 crosswalkOpen the teacher demo
Talk to us about a pilot
Student? Open the College RoadmapFamily? Calendars and the family letterWant to support the work? Donate

Free classroom curriculum · Grades 11–12

Six units. A live dashboard. Free for every school.

A complete personal finance curriculum for high school classrooms, delivered as a web app. Students join with a class code and a first name. Teachers watch understanding shift in real time.

  • Banking & Saving
  • Investing
  • Credit & Debt
  • Taxes
  • Insurance
  • The College Project
The Launchpad teacher dashboard for a sample class: average quiz accuracy, average confidence lift, and modules with data across the top; a live module card for Know Yourself; two students flagged as needing help; and a confidence heatmap showing each student's shift by module.

The teacher dashboard with a sample class. This is the live product, captured from the demo.

Ready for AB 2927

California high schools must offer a standalone personal finance course starting in 2027–28, and it becomes a graduation requirement with the class of 2031. Every required topic in Ed Code § 51284.5 is mapped to the module that teaches it.

See the crosswalk

Try it

A sample class with live data. No signup, no email. Then create a real class in a few minutes: students join with a class code and a first name.

A dashboard that does the reporting

Live class-level outcomes as students work. Impact data survives roster changes, exports to CSV, and ships with standards alignment and pacing guides.

Fits your bell schedule

Assign one module, one unit, or a full semester. Every unit stands on its own.

Real Takes

Short decision activities that put a common money misconception on the table, like “Do you even have to file?” Each ships in digital and print.

California-specific throughout

Cal Grant, CADAA, CalKIDS, and the CA Dream Act are built in. Nothing to adapt.

No bank sponsors

Funded by donors and book sales, so nothing in the course points students toward a product.

Built by a working teacher

Designed and coded by a California classroom teacher who teaches it every day and maintains it.

The Launchpad Activity Workbook: front cover

In print

The Launchpad Activity Workbook is the print companion: the quick activities, the Advisor Series, and every Real Take in one place. The Teacher's Guide is a free download with an answer key, pacing, and a run sheet for every activity. Ordering 10 or more workbooks? Take 10% off. Pricing

Outcomes

Students leave believing college is within reach, because they ran the numbers themselves.

0%
from 46.7%

believed they could afford a 4-year public university

0%
from 17.6%

believed they could afford a 4-year private university

Pre/post survey results from a 368-student research cohort in California classrooms using The College Project. Write to us for the survey instrument and full results. Ask for the data

“I've used The College Project in my classroom for several years. My students found many of their questions answered in this comprehensive, insightful book.”
Roger Keating · Business Academy Teacher (Retired), Ocean View High School (Title I), Huntington Beach, CA
“For once we weren't being left alone in the dark.”
Undocumented student, on the DACA/Dream Act chapter

Who builds it

Tyler Hensley

Founder & Executive Director

A California classroom teacher who began his career in wealth management, Tyler designs, writes, and builds every Finance Lab resource, and teaches them to his own students daily.

Krista Meyers

Director of Programs

A veteran classroom teacher with a counseling credential, Krista currently teaches Dual Enrollment College Seminar. She leads The Finance Lab's programs, from classroom rollouts to the scholarship.

The College Project, Fifth Edition: front cover

The College Project · Fifth Edition · Updated for the 2026–27 school year

The book that gives every student a personalized college plan.

One decision, taught end to end: choosing a college that fits and knowing you can afford it before you commit. Four parts, 19 chapters, and three artifacts each student builds: a Money Map, a Running List, and a Decision Dashboard. It also runs as a unit inside The Launchpad.

  • CA Dream Act and DACA chapters
  • Cal Grant, CalKIDS, FAFSA, CSS Profile
  • Six formats, one period to a semester

Bring it to your district

Run a pilot in one class this semester.

No contract, no procurement cycle, no student accounts. A pilot is one teacher, one section, and a few weeks.

  1. Open the demo

    See the teacher dashboard with a sample class. No signup.

  2. Create a class code

    Assign Banking & Saving to one section. Students join with the code and a first name.

  3. Send us your numbers

    Share the pre/post shift from your dashboard and we will walk through it with you.

  • Free for every teacher and student
  • Mapped to Ed Code § 51284.5, topic by topic
  • No student emails or accounts
  • Privacy pack available on request: CSDPA, SOPIPA and AB 1584 statement, FERPA posture