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Sponsored by the American Bankers Association Foundation, Lights, Camera, Save! is a national, bank-driven competition that encourages teens to use video to communicate the value of saving and inspire others to become lifelong savers. The video contest is designed for teens between the ages of 13 and 18, and encourages teens to develop creative, innovative concepts that show the importance of sound money management.

Three national winners of the contest will also receive awards of $1,000, $2,500 or $5,000, and winning videos will be posted on YouTube to become part of a national campaign to make sound money management relevant to teens.

To participate, contact a participating Iowa bank to request an entry form. Click here to view a list of participating banks.

Registration is open for a scholarship that offers Iowa high school seniors a chance to receive $2,000 for college while learning important financial literacy skills. In addition, each recipient’s high school will receive a corresponding $500 award.

High school seniors may register for the Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge: Senior Scholarship online between now and March 4.

Iowa Student Loan® will award $2,000 scholarships to 30 students who complete two online financial literacy tutorials and score highest on a related assessment. Registered students also receive emails highlighting financial literacy tips, such as the importance of early career and college planning and ways to reduce student loan indebtedness.

After registering for the scholarship, students receive emailed instructions for completing the three online components. Two tutorials — the newly revised Student Loan Game PlanSM and the ROCI Reality Check — were developed by Iowa Student Loan to help students understand the consequences of college borrowing and discover how to maximize their return on college investment, or ROCI.

Click here to learn more and to register.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released a new tool that educators can use to evaluate financial education curriculum for students. The curriculum review tool will help educators identify effective and unbiased material to increase the financial capability of students. By providing relevant evaluation criteria, the tool can help educators judge the value of financial education material for their students.

“Helping young people develop their financial capability early will prepare them for important financial decisions they will face in the future,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “The curriculum review tool we are releasing today will help educators determine which financial education curriculum best suits their students.”

Research links high school financial education courses with increased savings and wealth accumulation later in life. When attempting to find financial education material for their students, educators are often faced with the challenge of having to choose a suitable curriculum from a wide range of providers with few guidelines on how to select the most appropriate curriculum. This tool is designed to help.

Click here to learn more.

Get financial literacy tools and resources you can use in your classroom! Sign up now to attend a day-long, financial literacy professional development program at Iowa Western Community College in Atlantic on Oct. 20.

Each session will include classroom content and will offer helpful tools and resources. Resources will include lesson plans, whiteboard applications, videos, and more. All resources meet the Iowa Core Curriculum 21st Century Skills standards.

There is no charge for the program, but registration is required by Friday, Oct. 16. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Please RSVP to patty.fleming@tsinstitute.org.

Presenters include Kevin Shields, Community Affairs Specialist at the FDIC, Dr. Cindy Fletcher, Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Iowa State University, Bob Mantell and Kyle Osborne of TS Institute, and Joanne Kuster, president of DynaMinds Publishing and chairperson of Iowa Money Smart Week.

Event Details:
October 20, 2015 | 8:45 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
IOWA WESTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
705 WALNUT ST. | ATLANTIC, IA 50022
Agenda: http://www.tsinstitute.org/professional-development/

The spring edition of Money Smart News, a financial literacy resource provided by the FDIC, features two youth-focused initiatives and resources. The first, Money Smart for Young People, is a new set of educational materials for teachers, parents, and caregivers that can be used to educate children on how to manage their money. The second, Youth Savings Pilot Program, promotes access to financial services for young people by connecting financial education in schools with the opportunity to open bank accounts and begin saving money. “By engaging young people and their parents in discussions about key financial concepts and choices, we hope to enhance their financial capability and improve the likelihood that children and families will participate in the mainstream financial system,” said Mark Pearce, director at the FDIC. “In addition to the benefits of safety and security, the FDIC believes that an account with an insured depository institution can be a stepping stone to economic opportunity.”

Click here to access the financial literacy resources available in the spring edition of Money Smart News.

The Iowa Center for Economic Education at Dordt College facilitated the New Iowa Finance Challenge for Middle and High School Students that was held during Money Smart Week at the end of April.

The state-wide financial literacy competition was a free online financial literacy program that tested students’ knowledge about income and money management, spending and credit, and savings and investing.

Participating schools included Treynor, Madrid Junior and Senior High School, Tri-Center High School, Essex Junior and Senior High, MOC-FV High School, River Valley, Sioux Center High School, and Creston Middle School.

MOC-FV High School took the overall winning title, qualifying them for nationals. However, the winning teams from MOC-FV were unable to attend nationals due to graduation and state track. The next highest scoring team was from River Valley. Teacher Teena Dreckman attended the national competition in Kansas City with her students: Katie Reinking, Paige Korver, and Emily Hoy.

The challenge was sponsored by the Iowa Jump$tart Coalition and Wells Fargo.

Standings

Region one high school division:

• First place: Maria Cuevas, Aricson Knoblock, and Monica Nicholson of MOC-FV High School
• Second place: Sarah Schwarz, Kyle Van Der Stoep, and Cara Venema of MOC-FV High School

Region three high school division:

• First place: Sammy Anderson, Erin Bolte, and Brian Tessmer of Tri-Center High School
• Second place: Grace Lisle, Hannah Pettit, Jesse Pursell, and Shelbie Weihs of Tri-Center High School

Region one middle school division:

• First place: Skylar Mesner, Adrian Meza, and Ariaqna Meza of River Valley
• Second place: Jacob Henderson, Kera Johnson, Hailey Joy, and Ashton Lichtenburg of River Valley

Region three middle school division:

• First place: Brendan Mass, Amanda Kern, Alora Nowlin, and Brett Phelps of Treynor
• Second place: Megan Carley, Maria Carolus, Kyle Christensen, and Dane Dunbar of Treynor

Ten Iowa schools have been selected to receive a $1,000 award from the Iowa Bankers Association and its member banks and for participating in Project Financial Literacy. Project Financial Literacy is a program designed to promote financial literacy education by providing high schools with resources to measure and improve their financial literacy curriculum.

The awards and winning schools included:

• Highest Scoring School Award: ADM Senior High School, Adel (Sponsored by Raccoon Valley Bank)
• Most Improved School Award: Postville High School, Postville
• Highest Number of Participating Students Award: Southeast Polk High School, Pleasant Hill
• Highest Percentage of Participating Students Award: Marquette Catholic School, Bellevue (Sponsored by Bellevue State Bank)
• Northwest Regional Participation Award: Spirit Lake Highs School, Spirit Lake
• Northeast Regional Participation Award: Jesup High School, Jesup
• Central Regional Participation Award: Ballard Community Senior High School, Huxley
• East Regional Participation Award: Regina Jr Sr High School, Iowa City (Sponsored by MidWestOne Bank)
• Southwest Regional Participation Award: Tri-Center High School, Neola
• Southeast Regional Participation Award: Pella High School

All Iowa schools who participated in this program by Feb. 13 were eligible for one of 10 awards. Nearly 50 Iowa schools participated in the program this year, reaching more than 1,800 students.

“Financial literacy education is so critical to these students’ future success, and to the economic success of our communities. All of the participating schools are to be commended for their work in promoting financial education with their participation in this program,” said Lori Ristau, vice president of marketing and communications for the Iowa Bankers Association. “This program also aligns perfectly with the core values of Iowa banks. Iowa banks are not only a resource for financial products and services, but also a resource for financial expertise and advice. Financial literacy is at the heart of what Iowa banks do.”

The winning schools can use the $1,000 award can be used to invest in their financial literacy programs or for providing scholarships to students.

Schools interested in participating in Project Financial Literacy next year can visit www.projectfl.org to learn more.

What a great conference we had in July! We learned so much and got to meet so many neat individuals! If you missed the conference or if you would like to revisit it, please go to our conference page and check out all the cool downloads you can get. Thank you to all the speakers and attendants that came to our conference!

Congratulations to 4 Treynor High School students who won the 2013 Iowa Financial Literacy Program Video Clip Challenge!  Students involved were Logan Huff (Sr.), Wesley Masterson (Sr.), John Beckman (Sr.), and Taylor Anderson (Fr.).

Their video compares the financial behavior of two high school students.  One student is making good financial decisions while the other makes poor decisions.  Watch this fun video on YouTube at http://youtu.be/oJA60WcGI9s.