Category: Financial Literacy Tools

Contests, Financial Literacy Tools, Scholarships

At Home Financial Literacy Challenge worth $10,000

iowajumpstart

The National Financial Bee

Compete for a chance to win a college scholarship up to $10,000!

Calling all parents and caregivers! The Iowa Insurance Division is proud to sponsor the EVERFI National Financial Bee, a first-of-its-kind nationwide financial literacy challenge for students in 7th-10th grade. This year’s virtual challenge will take place April 20-24, and we want YOU to participate!

During Financial Literacy Month, and especially during this time of unprecedented uncertainty, we are committed to helping our Iowa Insurance Division team and their families plan for their financial future and find ways to pay for college. The National Financial Bee provides an opportunity for students to have some fun and learn critical financial concepts — all from the comfort of home while social distancing!

The five-day challenge was created by social impact education innovator EVERFI, our partner in financial education. Each daily lesson covers important financial topics covering everything from savings, investing, income, debt and more. After completing the lessons, students submit a short capstone essay in which they share their biggest financial dream and outline a plan for how to get there. Three winners of the National Financial Bee will receive up to $10,000 in college scholarships.

How It Works

Students can participate in just 3 easy steps:

  1. Visit the National Financial Bee website https://iid-iowa.everfi-next.net/welcome/national-financial-bee
  2. Complete the 5 lessons (~10 minutes each)
  3. Submit a short essay on your biggest financial dream and how you plan to achieve it by May 8th.

The National Financial be is open to all our Iowa Insurance Division employees, their immediate and extended families, and the communities we serve. We will be promoting the challenge across our social media channels and encourage you to re-share with friends and family.

Contests, Financial Literacy Tools

Classroom opportunity with Iowa JumpStart

iowajumpstart

Cache__BannerYou may have heard about the Cache! which is an online game for your classroom. It’s from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, it’s for Money Smart Week, it’s free to you – and there are prizes. Iowa teachers and students are eligible for the national prize as well as the Iowa JumpStart prize. It’s easy for your students to play, but you need to sign up by March 13 so they can access the site.

To participate:

  1. Teachers register and get details at this Money Smart link:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Cache2020
  2. Teachers get a code for their students to use – I will send an email to you.
  3. Students use any mobile device or computer to maneuver Ben Franklin through some 21st century financial hurdles and get him to the “portal” to answer the personal finance questions.
  4. Teachers can use Cache! as a fun activity or in conjunction with teaching a personal finance lesson.
  5. Students can play as many times as they wish from March 30 to May 5, 2020.
  6. Cache covers seven topics students should understand – credit scores, identity theft, car loans, student loans, debit vs. credit, paychecks and budgeting.

If you have questions, you can email joanne@kusterltd.com.

Thanks for teaching financial education in your classroom!

Financial Literacy Tools, Helpful Information

New Parent Service from Iowa Student Loan

iowajumpstart

As most educators know, parent engagement is a key component to a student’s overall success in life, and studies show that parents remain the number one influencer in achieving that success. More than likely, any educator and school counselor struggles with how to positively involve parents in their own students’ lives. But how do we educate parents and guardians in their role of helping students plan for life after high school?

For those who know the process, it can be overwhelming; for first-generation or low-income families, it can seem impossible. Through focus groups, surveys and partnerships with school counselors and educational organizations, Iowa Student Loan performed research and reviewed academic studies about methods to increase parental engagement. The end result is the development of a parental engagement service that assists educators by providing parent-focused tools and resources, empowering and incentivizing parents to engage in their students’ future plans, whether that includes college or a career.

Called SP3 — Student Planning Pointers for Parents, the service provides twice-monthly emails to registered parents. The emails contain useful tips and information based upon their students’ current grade level and the month in which the email is sent. Parents of eighth through 12th grade students are able to access information and resources related to the timely topic. After answering a couple of survey questions, they are entered into a quarterly drawing to win a 529 college savings deposit for their student — $250 to 40 participants each quarter. The best part about the service is that it’s entirely FREE!

The objectives are to increase parental involvement in students’ career and college planning; provide parents with tools to help with their students plan; and coordinate the service with activities and curriculum occurring at schools. Parents register at www.sp3.org to receive emails and gain access to a personal dashboard with current and archived content.

Iowa Student Loan has consistently provided financial education and college planning tools to Iowans during its 40-year history to support its mission of helping students obtain the resources needed to succeed in postsecondary education. Tools like Student Loan Game Plan, College Funding Forecaster, Return on College Investment (ROCI), Grad Degree Gauge and the Parent Handbook are proof of our successful mission, as is ICAN, with whom Iowa Student Loan partners. Adding SP3 to our impressive endeavors further solidifies our standing as a premier nonprofit entity in Iowa.

Financial Literacy Tools

Paying for College Resource

iowajumpstart

image001

Meet the Paying for College Resource. Your new, go-to destination to help students and families figure out how they’ll pay for college.

You’ll have access to free info and tools to help them make their plan:

  • Why to fill out the FAFSA
  • How to compare award letters
  • Finding scholarships
  • What to know about student loans

…And so much more!

Plus, check out the must-see video series.Watch by topic or the entire show to tackle questions about paying for college. They can be shown in the classroom, at financial aid nights, and more!

Get started at www.PayForCollegeResource.com

You’re a huge help to students and families as they plan for college, and we hope this resource can help you with the paying for college piece. Please feel free to share any of the resource’s info and materials on your school’s website, via social media, and with your peers. Attached you’ll also find a flyer to help spread the word.

Financial Literacy Tools

Social Security Education for Students

iowajumpstart


For teachers who are interested in materials to teach Social Security, check out the 5/7/2019 post from the Social Security Administration.  View Post on SSA.gov.

In May, we celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week and honor all of the educators who are preparing students for the future. Social Security knows that a well-informed instructor is usually the best one suited to educate others. That’s why we have online resources that are easy to access and share.

Social Security’s Educator Toolkit is a rich resource for teachers and advocates. Our Information for Educators page contains information and resources to engage students and to educate them on Social Security. It includes:

  • Infographics and handouts for each lesson plan
  • Links to Social Security webpages
  • Talking points
  • Quiz questions and answers
Financial Literacy Tools, Helpful Information

Groundswell Program helps parents advocate for financial education

iowajumpstart

The National Jump$tart Coalition has announced a new program, called Groundswell, to help parents, grandparents and guardians advocate for financial education in their schools. The goal of the program is to help increase the number of K-12 students who receive financial education in the classroom by 25 percent by 2025. “Parents, grandparents and guardians are the most vocal advocates for their own kids’ education,” said Laura Levine, president and CEO of the Jump$tart Coalition. Jump$tart is planning to develop a virtual toolkit for those interested in taking part in the effort. Click here to learn more.