Can you imagine a better panel to discuss financial education in schools than NGPF’s Co-Founder Jessica Endlich, Jump$tart's President and CEO Laura Levine and Champlain College’s Director of Financial Literacy John Pelletier? They recently appeared on the NPR 1A podcast where the topics ranged from how personal finance should be taught in schools to the investment in professional development required to run effective programs to how this coursework can be used to address equity issues. Enjoy! 

Resources mentioned

Who has access to financial education? 

• Less than 16% of U.S. students are required to take a personal finance course to graduate high school (NGPF’s Nationwide Access Report)

Federal Reserve

• Student loan borrowers in the U.S. collectively owe $1.5 trillion as of March 2018 (Forbes)

2018 FINRA Study

• FINRA findings by state map

NGPF’s Interactive Library

• PAYBACK - college financial decision-making interactive (accompanying worksheet)
• STAX - the investing world beyond stocks (accompanying worksheet)

Jump$tart’s Project Groundswell - parent engagement tool

• Clearinghouse - a plethora of resources

 Videos

• Scrooge McDuck & Money video
• SNL’s Kate McKinnon and Beth Kobliner talk money with kids. Fun with financial literacy!

Champlain College’s National High School Financial Literacy Report

QUOTES:

• “Getting financial education is so important because it levels the playing field and helps us reach everybody.” –Laura Levine
• “The big trend… I don’t recall, over the last 14 months, as many states moving in a positive direction as has occurred in the past 14 month period. So something positive is happening. You know, states like Wisconsin and Delaware, Vermont, Kentucky, Louisiana, Iowa, and Massachusetts have all made pretty substantive changes at the high school level and that’s great… It’s not enough to just require it; we got to make sure the teachers can teach it.” –John Pelletier
• “It’s not about the parent being an expert. It’s about the parent and the child really discussing these things and sussing them out together.” -Jessica Endlich

About the Authors

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

Danielle Bautista

Danielle is a native of Southern California and a recent graduate from the University of Maine, where she braved the frigid winters—a feat in and of itself—and earned her Bachelor's degree in International Affairs. She has a passion for working with non-profit organizations and serving populations in underprivileged communities. When Danielle isn't writing NGPF blog posts, spearheading various outreach projects, or managing contests and flash surveys, you can find her doing some sort of outdoor activity, learning a new hobby, or cracking what she thinks are witty puns!