Engage your students in learning about investing – with the Stock Market Game, provided through Dordt College’s Center for Economic Development. This real-life simulation gives your students the chance to learn this important life skill in a fun and interactive way – and is easy for teachers to administer.
The game is tailored for students grade three through the college level, and is free for students in Iowa. The game is also segmented into divisions by different grade level groups, in which the students can compete for the chance to win various prizes.
The fall games will run from Oct. 6 to Dec. 12, 2014. To register your class to participate, visit www.stockmarketgame.org.
On July 17, a group of Iowa teachers attended the Iowa Jump$tart Financial Literacy Conference in Ankeny, Iowa. This annual conference highlights financial literacy programs and materials available for educators to use in the classroom in order to teach the subject of financial literacy to Iowa students.
Opening keynote speakers included Kenneth McDonnell of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Bill Cheeks of the National Jump$tart Coalition. McDonnell shared information on financial literacy resources available from the CFPB, including tools to help consumers with questions about paying for college and understanding mortgages. Cheeks provided an update on resources available from the National Jump$tart Coalition, including opportunities to attend their National Educators Conference Nov. 8-10 in Los Angeles.
Mary Suiter of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis was the keynote speaker during the lunch hour, and discussed the variety of financial literacy resources available from her organization. The St. Louis Fed offers economics and personal finance education resources segmented by educational level, such as elementary school, middle school, high school and college, through their Econlowdown program.
Closing keynote speakers were TS Bank Institute’s Bob Mantell and Kyle Osborne. Leading an interactive session, Mantell and Osborne discussed their blueprint to improve financial literacy for students and shared a variety of free financial literacy resources available for teachers. TS Bank is currently involved with in-school banking and after school programs, as well as offering professional development resources for teachers so they feel prepared and comfortable teaching financial literacy material.
In addition to the keynote speakers, breakout sessions providing additional resources and information were held by representatives from the Iowa Attorney & General’s Office, Wells Fargo, MECCA, Dordt College, Financial Capability Network, Davenport Community School District, and AskMrG Consulting, LLC.
All of the speakers shared a multitude of financial literacy programs and classroom materials ranging from online games for improving financial skills to information for teens starting the journey to financial independence. The conference helped inspire and give new ideas to all levels of educators as they prepare for the new school year.
Kenneth McDonnell of the CFPB
Bill Cheeks of National Jump$tart
Mary Suiter of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Bob Mantell and Kyle Osbourne of the TS Bank Institute
Gov. Terry E. Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa Student Loan leaders recognized today 20 Iowa high school seniors who each won a $1,500 college scholarship through participation in the Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge: Senior Scholarship, administered by Iowa Student Loan. The high school seniors from across the state were recognized in a special award ceremony at the Iowa Capitol.
This was the first year Iowa Student Loan offered the Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge: Senior Scholarship, which provided Iowa high school seniors the chance to win $1,500 for college while learning important financial literacy skills.
Between December 2013 and February 2014, registered high school seniors were asked to complete two online financial literacy tutorials — Student Loan Game Plan and the ROCI Reality Check — which Iowa Student Loan developed to help students understand the consequences of college borrowing and discover how to maximize their return on college investment, or ROCI. In addition, scholarship contenders were required to take an online financial literacy assessment test created by Ednalysis, an Iowa educational research company. Scholarship winners were determined from those who earned top scores on the assessment test.
On March 13th, Governor Brandstad proclaimed April as Financial Literacy Awareness Month.
We want everyone in Iowa to know how important financial literacy is to the individual and the community. We will continue to promote skills in financial literacy. Hopefully this proclamation will help Iowan’s see how serious the governor and community is in achieving this goal. Here is the wording in the Proclamation.
WHEREAS, The State of Iowa believes knowledge of personal finance is essential for the success of our citizens and state; and
WHEREAS, Iowa is taking decisive action to promote financial stability, and the State’s prosperity will ultimately depend on our willingness as individuals to empower ourselves and our families with financial knowledge; and
WHEREAS, To lay the foundation for continued prosperity, Iowa must strive to ensure all Iowans have the skills to manage fiscal resources effectively and avoid deceptive or predatory practices; and
WHEREAS, The Iowa College Student Aid Commission, the Iowa Department of Education, the Treasurer of the State, the Department of Commerce Banking and Insurance Divisions, and their partners wish to instill core concepts of personal finance in all Iowans including: savings, banking, credit scores, financing higher education, taxes and insurance, consumer fraud and investing; and
WHEREAS, Working with partners across the state, Iowa’s goal is to ensure all Iowans are prepared to successfully manage their finances; and
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Terry E. Branstad, Governor of the State of Iowa, do hereby proclaim the month of April, 2013 as FINANCIAL LITERACY AWARENESS MONTH.
The Iowa Division of Banking (IDOB), a member of the Iowa Jump$tart Coalition, is pleased to announce it has awarded financial literacy grants to TS Bank Institute and the Iowa Bankers Association. The legislature appropriated $100,000 to the IDOB to fund programs leveraging banks’ expertise to provide financial literacy education programs to Iowans.
Government-backed Money Advice Service (MAS) pointed to a Cambridge University study that suggested that most young children had grasped all the main aspects of how money works and formed “core behaviors which they will take into adulthood and which will affect financial decisions they make during the rest of their lives”.
Caroline Rookes, chief executive of the Money Advice Service, said: “This study really demonstrates the power of parental influences, and illustrates how much of what you learn and absorb when you are young, both consciously and subconsciously, affects the choices you make throughout the rest of your life.”
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.
On April 15, 2013 Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds announced the launch of a new online financial literacy program, offered through the Iowa College Student Aid Commission (Iowa College Aid). The interactive program, Vault™, will help Iowa 4th through 6th graders establish smart habits and attitudes about handling money. The program is available free to Iowa elementary and middle schools.
Congratulations to these Iowa schools for winning $1000!! These schools participated in the 2013 Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge. 44 Schools qualified for the cash drawing.
Iowa Jump$tart Coalition 