• Showing Students it’s OK to Not to Have it All (Jump$tart)

For MaryBeth, personal finance is – personal. She began her career as a credit union teller and saw that some of her customers lacked basic financial knowledge. To help, she worked to build relationships with her customers and help them be more financially secure. She did this by explaining the difference between debit and credit, helping customers with checkbook reconciliation and loan counseling.

• Innovative Educator (Practical Money Skills)

Laurie Gardner’s personal finance classroom is far from conventional. By redesigning the space from the top down, she has created an innovative learning experience in which her students thrive. From independent work to group work, to guest speakers, Laurie has given a new face to financial education at Marine City High School in Michigan.

• 'I'm learning what it's like to be in the real world instead of being just a kid' (The Daily Gazette)

What would you do if someone handed you a crisp $100 bill? What about $1,000? A group of about a dozen Schenectady County teens pondered that hypothetical — as unlikely as it may be — as part of a financial literacy training hosted at the SEFCU Center in Schenectady one morning last week. The students were largely split between the two poles of personal finance: spend and save.

• Local students attend UWA’s career exploration camp (Demopolis Times)

The University of West Alabama’s Division of Economic Development and Outreach (DEDO) hosted the 2017 Career Exploration Summer Camp (CESC) for students who will be sophomores and juniors during the 2017-2018 school year. The camp was held on June 11-16. Marengo County’s Shamaire Collins, a student at Amelia L. Johnson High School, attended the camp.

• Teens Learn financial facts at Gateway's Money Camp (Kenosha News)

Money has a new meaning for middle and high school teens who learned how to spend, budget and invest at Gateway Technical College’s three-day Teen Money Camp, which began earlier this week. The Kenosha County camp, the first of three that GTC will host for teens this summer, began Monday and ended Wednesday.

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!