• NLA Teacher Mrs. McNamara is Selected for a National Training in Financial Education (Newark Leadership Academy)

Beating the odds – that’s what we live and breathe at NLA. With that mindset, Mrs. McNamara, our Financial Literacy teacher, submitted an application to the Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) Summer Institute.  We are happy to report that Lady Mac, as she is known here, was invited as one of only 12 teachers nationwide [editor’s note: NGPF is hosting two sessions, each with 12 teachers, this summer in Palo Alto] to the all expenses paid June event in Palo Alto, California.

• Teacher Nick Simmons of Hopkins Academy (MA) Succeeds in Making Personal Finance A Graduation Requirement (Amherst Bulletin)

This is part of what led Nicholas Simmons, a computer science and elective teacher at Hopkins, to ask the Hadley School Committee to require a class on personal finance for graduation. Armed with a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Simmons — endearingly dubbed “Sir Simmons” by his students — designed a curriculum that teaches a philosophy of money and labor as a means of personal power; how to buy a home and invest for the future; and how to navigate taxes, loans and credit cards.

• Niwot High School Teacher (Colorado) receives prestigious teaching award; developed financial literacy curriculum for the district too (Left Hand Valley Courier)

This year the council has selected Niwot High School economics teacher Ken Benson to receive this prestigious award…In addition to teaching students at Niwot, Benson has worked with a team to create the St. Vrain Valley School District’s new financial literacy curriculum. He has also taught fellow economics teachers through the CCEE. “It’s one of the best professional development offerings in Colorado,” Benson said of the organization.

• Adams students get early taste of banking (The Journal Gazette)

On the surface, the Adams Aces Bank is just that – a bank, albeit on a limited scale. It operates only Friday mornings, for 30 minutes in the Adams Elementary School gymnasium, and all its transactions are deposits that go into real accounts at 3Rivers Federal Credit Union. But Principal Federa Smith says it’s more than that. It goes hand-in-hand with the Fort Wayne Community school’s efforts to plant the seeds of college and a career – not just a job – in children’s minds, she said.

• NH teens to face off in financial literacy competition, FinLit300 (The Cabinet Press)

NH teens will face off in FinLit300, a financial literacy competition. Almost 60 of New Hampshire’s most money-savvy teenagers will compete for the title of New Hampshire FinLit300 State Champion when they meet at the Grappone Center in Concord on April 11. Organized by the New Hampshire Jump$tart Coalition, FInLit300 is a powerful educational opportunity that helps to teach teenagers in grades 9-12 to be smart, responsible and financially literate adults. [Congrats to Sheila Miller and Michael Brazeau, NGPF scholarship winners in 2016, who coached two of the teams in the competition] 

• MMU wins 2017 Treasury Cup Challenge (vermontbiz)

Ten teams of Vermont high school students competed last week to test their knowledge of personal finance and economics at the 2017 Vermont Treasury Cup Challenge, an annual event hosted by Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce. After 18 head-to-head matches, Mount Mansfield Union High School’s five-person team won the championship. Champlain Valley Union High School came in second, with South Burlington High School finishing a close third.

• Saratoga Library hosts only ‘money’ stop in Bay Area (The Mercury News)

Knowing how to handle money is invaluable. Learning this necessary skill often requires years of practice to form a good relationship with money. From April 1 to May 1, the Saratoga Library is hosting the new exhibit “Thinking Money,” a new traveling exhibition that teaches preteens, teens and the adults in their lives about key financial strategies.

About the Author

Laura Matchett

After graduating with an education degree and spending 7 years in an elementary classroom, Laura made the switch to the non-profit world and loves interacting with students, educators and business professionals across the country. She is passionate about all students having access to high quality education and views personal finance education as one way to ‘level the playing field’. When Laura is not locating or creating high quality educational resources, you can find her mountain biking or searching for the best ramen in town!