We are excited to announce we have teamed up with Kidfund to make it easier for families to save for their children’s future and college tuition. Kidfund is a socially powered savings app that lets families and friends contribute to the child’s account. The app engages the child in the process so they can understand the power of saving and watch their money grow.

This partnership is a natural extension of CEE’s mission to provide children with the knowledge and tools to create financial stability for themselves and their families. As a result of the CEE and Kidfund partnership, CEE will receive $10 for each new family that opens an account and starts to save to support its mission.

We hope you’ll sign up for your child’s free account today and/or pass along this information to others who you think can benefit from this. And, for a limited time only, families new to Kidfund will receive $5 when they sign up and start saving. The funds are held securely in individual accounts at USALLIANCE Financial. The accounts are completely free (no fee, no minimums), earn 3% interest on the first $500, and are FDIC insured up to $250,000.

To  learn more about the partnership and how to download the Kidfund app, please visit: https://www.kidfund.us/cee-partnership. 

POSTED: April 23, 2018 | BY: Daniel Thompson | TAGS: CEE, College, college planning, Council For Economic Education, Councils & Centers, EconEdLink, Economic Education, Economics, Financial Literacy, Financially Fit, fintech, free app, kidfund, kidfund.us, Laura Bailyn, Nan J. Morrison, Personal Finance, Personal Finance Education, Professional Development, savings account, savings app

While standardized tests in our nation’s schools address the topics that we would most expect – math concepts, reading comprehension – what they fail to cover are the real-world skills that students need to be successful after graduation.

This is where the Council for Economic Education (CEE) comes in.

Since its creation just after World War II, CEE’s mission has been to equip K-12 teachers with the tools they need to create a strong financial education foundation for their students. “We provide professional development and resources for teachers,” said Nan Morrison, President and CEO of CEE. “The resources range from lesson plans for the classroom, interactive activities, games, an assessment center, and videos.”  Most of these resources you can find on CEE’s online teacher portal, EconEdLink, which accrues over 1.2 million sessions each year, or you’ll find them in one of CEE’s in-person professional development workshops.

Whether its through EconEdLink, or in-person professional development workshops, webinars or student competitions, CEE has the resources to meet teachers where they are with what they need.

Read CardRates.com full blog post about our impact to date and the programs we offer >>>

POSTED: March 5, 2018 | BY: Daniel Thompson | TAGS: card rates, cardrates.com, CEE, council for e, Council For Economic Education, Councils & Centers, EconEdLink, Economic Education, Economics, Economics Challenge, Financial Literacy, Financially Fit, Nan J. Morrison, Personal Finance, Personal Finance Education, Professional Development

BY: RYAN LEUNG, rising senior, Lexington High School and 2016 winner of the National Economics Challenge

If the goal of high school is to prepare students for life after graduation, then most schools in our country are not meeting that standard. While our school system prepares students with the academic skills needed to succeed, there is one glaring flaw: most students graduate with next to no knowledge on managing finances.

Money-management skills are more important than ever to navigate the economic realities of the modern marketplace, yet most states still do not require high schools to offer personal finance classes. In lieu of high school personal finance classes, most teens either learn from their mistakes or look to parents for personal finance lessons. Unfortunately, not all parents are well-equipped to serve as financial models for their children.

To address this growing national problem, a group of students from Lexington, Massachusetts founded Project Finance, an organization to promote financial literacy in high schools. We distributed a survey to all public high schools across the state and found an absence of universally accepted financial literacy standards across the Commonwealth. As such, Project Finance has been pushing for the adoption of financial literacy standards, and in March 2017 successfully requested the State Board of Education to review the Council for Economic Education’s National Standards for Financial Literacy for implementation into the state curriculum. This is only a start; offering a personal finance class in each high school is the necessary next step to prepare our students to become informed consumers, investors and participants in our global economy.

Being financially literate cannot guarantee future success, but the personal and national costs of being financially ignorant are immense. My generation is being academically prepared for life after graduation; it is now time for us to be financially prepared.

This op-ed piece was published in the Council for Economic Education’s 2018 Survey of the States.

POSTED: February 15, 2018 | BY: Daniel Thompson | TAGS: CEE, CNBC, Council For Economic Education, Economic Education, Economics, fin lit, Financial Literacy, Lexington High School, Massachusetts, sos, student advocacy, Survey of the States

BY: SENATOR LOU TERHAR, Ohio Senate, District 8

The low level of financial literacy in Ohio (and nationwide) exacerbated the effects of the Great Recession. Ohio is ranked fourth worst in financial literacy of the 50 states, has the sixth highest proportion of college graduate student loan debt and ranks 33rd in average per capita defined contribution retirement funds balance, at just $27,000.

Ohio House Bill 391, passed in 2016 in the 131st General Assembly, was an effort to improve financial literacy in Ohio. The bill provided for $318,000 for Smart Ohio, a program supporting curriculum, teacher stipends and student assessments to deliver professional development to Ohio teachers in grades 1-6, created and delivered primarily by the Economics Center for Education and Research of the University of Cincinnati. An initial pilot project, which provided teachers with training in a solid and proven system, resulted in major gains in the financial literacy of children. The General Assembly was so impressed with the program’s results that continued funding for Smart Ohio was approved by both Houses even in very difficult budget negotiations.

In Smart Ohio’s first year, 500 teachers were trained, impacting approximately 12,500 students. By 2021, it will reach 75,000 students at a cost of $8.48 per student. The continued funding will increase the impact on Ohio student financial literacy capabilities, at a lower per student basis, ensuring that as many students as possible can make mature, informed financial choices that will allow them to prosper in a free market. The legislature’s support of this statewide program reflects a belief that the future of our state lies in the economic and financial literacy of our students. We are proud to support our future leaders in their development of good decision-making skills.

This op-ed piece was published in the Council for Economic Education’s 2018 Survey of the States.

POSTED: February 14, 2018 | BY: Daniel Thompson | TAGS: CEE, CNBC, Council For Economic Education, Economic Education, Economics, fin lit, Financial Literacy, Lou Terhar, Ohio, Ohio Senate District 8, Ohio State Senator, Senator Terhar, sos, Survey of the States

By: DAN SCHULMAN, President & CEO, PayPal 

PayPal is committed to democratizing financial services to enable all people to join and thrive in the digital economy. Whether here in the US or around the world, we believe everyone should have access to the affordable, convenient and secure financial products and services they need to improve their financial health, support their families, contribute to their communities, and invest in their futures.

But access is only part of the equation – another critical part is education. Economic and financial literacy is a foundational element to achieving financial health and needs to be included in early education programs. We have seen firsthand that improving the financial health of individuals has powerful ripple effects across families, communities, companies, and economies. And that process starts in the classroom.

Financial inclusion and financial health are problems that we can solve in our lifetimes if we truly understand the causes and challenges, and commit to partnering across the ecosystem to fix the gaps that exist in the traditional financial system. We can make a difference by forming deeper bonds between the public, private, and social sectors to develop new curriculum and educational models that foster and encourage financial literacy and understanding from an early age.

This op-ed was published in the Council for Economic Education’s 2018 Survey of the States.

POSTED: February 13, 2018 | BY: Daniel Thompson | TAGS: CEE, Council For Economic Education, Dan Schulman, Economic Education, Economics, Education, Financial Education, Financial Literacy, paypal, PayPal CEO, Personal Finance, Personal Finance Education, Politics, Research, Survey of the States, Teachers

Every two years, the Council for Economic Education (CEE) conducts a comprehensive look into the state of K-12 economic and financial education in the United States, collecting data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The biennial Survey of the States serves as an important benchmark for our progress, revealing both how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go. There has been notable progress since the first survey was published in 1998, yet the pace of change has slowed. The 2018 Survey of the States shows that there has been little increase in economic education in recent years and no growth in personal finance education.

Research shows that requirements are the main driver of economics and personal finance being taught in schools. CEE works with our nationwide network of affiliates to both advocate for requirements and assist in their implementation. To support local and state advocacy initiatives, we have developed voluntary standards in economics and personal finance, nationally-normed, curriculum-agnostic assessments in economics and personal finance, and an online advocacy toolkit.

You can help strengthen economic and personal finance education by: 

• Requesting a course in your school or district
• Calling for more teacher-training
• Promoting standards and course requirements at the state level.

Where does your state stand?

This piece was published in the Council for Economic Education’s 2018 Survey of the States.

POSTED: February 12, 2018 | BY: Daniel Thompson | TAGS: CEE, CNBC, Council For Economic Education, Economic Education, Economics, fin lit, Financial Literacy, sos, Survey of the States