WASHINGTON -- Make sure your kids remember to pack their calculators.

Georgia's top school official, in an exclusive interview with wsbtv.com, said school districts will soon be cranking up their efforts to teach financial literacy and financial planning. Kathy Cox, Georgia superintendent of schools, said the state has rewritten its social studies curriculum to include more economic lessons. At least 20 percent of those lessons, Cox said, will focus on personal finances.

Math curriculum is changing too. Cox said, "If they don't have the analytical and mathematical skills they need to even balance their own budgets, you can end up in trouble really quickly." The state will ask Georgia high schools, including those in Metro Atlanta, to include more students in high-level geometry and algebra courses. Cox said, "We have to get our kids better prepared mathematically to handle the challenge of their own households."

Cox said the adjustments are a response to the state's profound economic problems. A report by the Georgia Council on Economic Education showed Georgia ranked second in the nation in personal bankruptcies. The Atlanta region is also among the national leaders in home foreclosures.

The Atlanta Public School District has recently created its own financial literacy programs. District spokesman Joe Manguno told wsbtv.com Washington High School, Carver School of Entrepreneurship, and Mays High School have recently added student-run, on-campus banks. Manguno said the banks are designed to teach students about loans, savings, and budgets.

Atlanta public schools have also added a program called "Operation HOPE," which organizes local banking industry leaders to speak to its high school students about financial planning.

The region's top bankruptcy judge recently indicated a need for added financial education. Joyce Bihary of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia told the Atlanta Business Chronicle, "As a society, we need to do everything we can to increase financial literacy. The need to understand the range of products, mortgage and credit cards is so pressing."

For more details of what your local school district is offering in its curriculum, click on the links to the right.