Atty. General Lynch, Gen. Treasurer, Tavares to Speak on Youth Financial Education Workshop to Help Educators Teach Personal Finance to Students

Warwick, RI – On Monday, November 8th, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Sheraton Airport Hotel, one-hundred (100) Rhode Island and area educators will have the opportunity to learn strategies to teach personal financial education to middle and high school students at a workshop entitled, “Financial $marts for Students.”  This workshop is free thanks to Sponsor support.

“Financial $marts for Students” is a joint effort between the Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition (RIJ$C) and the URI Center for Personal Financial Education that will provide middle and high school educators in Rhode Island with the motivation, materials, curricula and confidence to incorporate personal financial education in the classroom.  Over one-hundred (100) educators have registered to attend the workshop, representing forty-four (44) Rhode Island and nearby cities and towns and over fifty (50) schools.

Rhode Island Family Consumer Science Teacher at South Kingstown High School, Kathi Masi encourages her colleagues to attend the seminar, “By attending this informative seminar, you will gain the skills and information needed to educate the next generation so they will be prepared to enter a challenging and dynamic financial marketplace.  I know early financial education pays off!  Former students have contacted me to thank me for my lesson on credit usage.”

Speakers include: RI General Treasurer, Paul J. Tavares; RI Attorney General, Patrick Lynch; Jump$tart Coalition New England Regional Director, Dan Hebert; Director of Economic Education, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Scott Guild; Director of Outreach, URI Center for Personal Financial Education, Claudia Kerbel; and other trainers and panelists (a complete agenda can be provided).

On the importance of personal financial education of youth, Rhode Island General Treasurer, Paul J. Tavares states, “The RI Jump$tart Coalition is sure to be a valuable asset to our state.  It is crucial that students develop an understanding of financial issues because they will soon begin making important decisions on their finances, decisions that may have a lasting impact.By educating Rhode Island’s youth about strategies for a sound financial future, we help make the future of our state secure.I applaud the efforts of RI Jump$tart and look forward to working with the coalition in support of financial education for all Rhode Islanders.”

Topics to be addressed at the workshop include; money management, budgeting, tracking income, time value of money, credit usage, identity theft and financial fraud prevention, and asset protection.

On behalf of workshop organizers, RI Jump$tart Coalition Executive Director, Jim Hedemark states, “We are extremely encouraged by the response of Rhode Island elected officials, companies, and civic organizations who have come together to make this workshop a meaningful and free experience for educators.”  He continues, “Our gratitude to our sponsors and partners is only surpassed by our pride in the educators and their administrators, who have made this day a priority.Other than parents and the students themselves, no one knows better than educators, the challenges that young people are facing in the financial marketplace.”

The Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition (founded in 2004) is an coalition of dozens of Ocean State and New England region businesses, community organizations, educational institutions, government agencies and officers. The coalition¹s mission is “to increase the financial literacy of individuals in Rhode Island.”  The coalition¹s website is www.rijumpstart.org

In 2006, for the first time, Rhode Island high school seniors participated in the national Jump$tart Coalition personal financial literacy survey that measures teenagers¹ knowledge of personal financial literacy topics. Rhode Island high school seniors answered 48.8% of the questions correctly. The national average was 52.4%.  For more details on the national survey, please click here.

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