• Northfield students take finance lesson to Atlantic City boat show (Press of Atlantic City)

Northfield Community School math teacher Karen Schroeder’s wish list includes owning a boat someday. On Thursday morning, she and school Principal Kevin Morrison took 45 seventh-graders to the Progressive Insurance Atlantic City Boat Show at the Convention Center and put them to work on a real-life financial literacy problem: Could they find a boat that met both Schroeder’s wish list and her budget, between $20,000 and $40,000?

• Seventh-graders from USM win Wisconsin Stock Market Simulation (North Shore Now)

What’s the secret to success in the stock market? Just ask University School of Milwaukee seventh-graders Lexi Lee and Xavier Barth. The duo took first place in the Wisconsin Stock Market Simulation, a statewide competition conducted by EconomicsWisconsin, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that promotes economic education and financial literacy.

• Principal puckers up and secures grant for personal finance resources (CU Insight)

Sixth grade students at E.T. Richardson Middle School in Springfield, Delaware County, are enjoying new resources in their personal finance classes thanks to Principal Daniel Tracy kissing a pig at TruMark Financial® Credit Union’s Kiss-A-Pig Financial Literacy Fundraiser. Some of the new resources include Budget: Real World Math, a budgeting game, and “The Lemonade War,” a book that illustrates even a small business like a lemonade stand requires good math and budgeting skills.

• Teachers Credit Union receives national recognition for efforts empowering youth via financial literacy program (CU Insight)

After just one year, the Teachers Credit Union (TCU) Financial Empowerment program has caught the attention of TCU’s peers on a national scale. On March 1, TCU’s signature financial literacy program was recognized with a Credit Union National Association Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award (named after credit union pioneer Alphonse Desjardins). CUNA created the Desjardins Youth and Adult Financial Education Awards program to recognize leadership within the credit union movement on behalf of financial literacy for all ages.

• Nevada bill would require financial literacy courses in schools (Las Vegas Review Journal)

Nevada students would be required to receive instruction on financial literacy and economics under a bill introduced Wednesday in the Nevada Senate. Senate Bill 249, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Joyce Woodhouse of Henderson and a host of other lawmakers, requires financial literacy be taught from third grade through high school.

• Woodlake Unified School District added a personal finance elective to their curriculum (Foothills Sun Gazette)

WHS states, “Personal finance is 80% behavior and 20% head knowledge. We believe that teaching teens to take control of their money can help them avoid huge money mistakes down the road. They need to know that their financial decisions have long-term consequences. Students must learn how to budget, save, spend wisely, avoid debt and give.”

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!