First convened in December, 1995, the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy determined that the average student who graduates from high school lacks basic skills in the management of personal financial affairs. Many are unable to balance a checkbook and most simply have no insight into the basic survival principles involved with earning, spending, saving and investing. Many young people fail in the management of their first consumer credit experience, establish bad financial management habits, and stumble through their lives learning by trial and error. The Coalition´s direct objective is to encourage curriculum enrichment to ensure that basic personal financial management skills are attained during the K-12 educational experience. The wheels of education do not need to be reinvented, they simply require balance.   Results of the 2008 Financial Literacy Surveys of High School and College Students were released at a press conference on April 9, 2008, at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, DC. The Survey is generously sponsored, once again, by the Merrill Lynch Foundation. The newly formed President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy has recommended that the U.S. Department of the Treasury challenge U.S. students to learn more about personal finance. Beginning April 28, 2008, high school teachers can register their classes to participate in the 2008 National Financial Literacy Challenge. The Challenge is a voluntary, 35-question test that students can take to earn recognition of their financial knowledge. It will be offered online until May 16, 2008 and there is no fee to participate. High school teachers, please click here for all the information you will need to participate in the Challenge, as well exciting information about the awards, which are sponsored by the Charles Schwab Foundation. Jump$tart Coalition and Its Partners Celebrate Financial Literacy for Youth Month! InCharge Education Foundation InCharge® Education Foundation continues to rank among the leaders of nationwide outreach efforts in youth financial literacy education. This April, InCharge joins representatives from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to field student questions and distribute information at the University of Central Florida's Financial Literacy Day. The group will counsel prospective young home buyers at the Howard County Housing Fair in Columbia, Md. InCharge, publishers of Military Money magazine, will help conduct a financial literacy seminar for young military families at Fort Bragg, N.C. We continue to expand our MemberSmart financial literacy counseling and education program for credit unions with a seminar for Sharonview Federal Credit Union in Fort Mill, S.C. Finally, there's our ongoing Credit Booster High School program, which educates teens about consumer credit and money management, and is available free to educational, governmental and charitable not-for-profit groups. To learn more about InCharge, please visit www.inchargefoundation.org.

Jump$tart Presents Federal Legislators and Odom Awards

Jump$tart's aim is to identify high-quality personal finance materials for educational use. The Clearinghouse is a database of personal finance resources available from a variety of education providers such as government, business and non-profit organizations. Once you find a material of interest, you can order it directly from the source. Many of the materials are low cost or free of charge. Teachers often use these personal finance teaching materials to support their state's standards in economics, business, math and family and consumer science.

2008 Jump$tart Coalition Annual Awards Dinner

Jump$tart Coalition - 2008 Meeting/Events Schedule First Quarter National Board Meeting Board Dinner, Thursday January 24 Board Meeting, Friday, January 25 Meeting Room Courtesy of Mortgage Bankers Association 2008 Survey Results Press Conference Wednesday, April 9 Jump$tart Special Event Fundraising Dinner Reception 6:30 p.m., dinner 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 9 Renaissance Washington DC, Hotel Second Quarter National Board, Partner, State Leader and Committee Meetings State Leader and Committee Meetings, Wednesday, April 9 Partners Meeting, Board Meeting, and Workshop, Thursday, April 10 Renaissance Washington DC, Hotel Financial Literacy Day on Capitol Hill Date: Monday, April 28, 2008 Location: Hart Senate Office Building, 902 Please contact Jump$tart for additional information Third Quarter National Board Meeting Board Dinner, Thursday July 17 Board Meeting, Friday, July 18 Location to be determined Fourth Quarter National Board, Partner, and Committee Meetings Committee Meetings; Networking Reception, Thursday, October 23 Partners Meeting, Board Meeting, and Workshop, Friday, October 24 Location to be determined All meetings will be held in the Washington, DC area. Precise locations will be announced prior to each meeting. Partners with meeting space in the greater Washington, DC area are invited/encouraged to donate their meeting space and be recognized for their in-kind contribution.

 

Extra CreditSM In late 2006, Wachovia launched the Extra CreditSM curriculum as part of its comprehensive financial literacy program. Extra CreditSM was created by Wachovia to address the great need for consumer education across the country and to broaden the scope of its financial literacy program which also includes the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC) Money Smart curriculum and the bank's own eCommunitiesfirst® curriculum. Designed to teach advanced credit topics such as credit scores, debt management, and credit repair, Extra CreditSM has been widely used by credit counseling agencies and non-profit organizations that provide financial education, especially in low- to moderate-income communities. Extra CreditSM covers important topics such as: what is in a credit score, danger signs of debt, strategies for dealing with debt, and how to establish and maintain good credit. It is an intermediate-level lesson that can also be used as a complement to Money Smart's To Your Credit module as it expands on the basic concepts covered by the FDIC. Extra CreditSM, which is available in both English and Spanish, comes with instructor and participant guides, participant completion certificates, overhead slides, and marketing posters. The curriculum can be conducted via traditional classroom style or through video-assisted delivery. Wachovia created videos to help enhance the facilitation of classes and to aid novice instructors. Wachovia believes that it is never too early to learn about the importance of good credit and that establishing and maintaining good credit is critical to building a solid financial foundation. Wachovia is committed to providing innovative educational tools, such as Extra CreditSM, to help individuals of all ages navigate through a financially complex world and enable them to make educated financial decisions.   REALITY CHECK HAS MOVED! Here is the new URL: http://www.jumpstart.org/realitycheck Unfortunately, the Jump$tart Coalition 2007 calendars are now out of stock. Thank you for your interest. We are working on the 2008 calendars and they will be available soon. Please watch this spot on the Web site to see exactly when to place your order. Thanks. The Jump$tart Coalition® has developed twelve personal finance principles for young people to hook into their financial futures. This year, these practical, everyday ideas are sponsored by Capital One®. If followed, these principles can help students stay connected to their financial lives—start today! Please click HERE if you would like to see lessons plans developed around the 12 Principles. Support for the survey provided by the Merrill Lynch Foundation. Financial Literacy: Improving Education The positive turnaround in financial literacy scores that was first noted in the 2004 survey, continued-albeit slowly-in 2007. Beginning with an average score of 57.3 percent in 1997, scores fell to 51.9 percent in 2000 and 50.2 percent in 2002 before staging a rebound to 52.3 percent in 2004. In 2007, the mean score increased by a tenth of a percent to 52.4 percent. The increase is certainly not overwhelming but somewhat reassuring given that the gains of two years ago appear to be holding. On a more positive note, the proportion failing this exam (a score below 60 percent), decreased from 65.5 percent in 2004 to 62 percent in 2007. In his preface to the 2007 edition, Senator Michael B. Enzi (R-WY) added: A life of financial success and security begins with a strong education. Every generation of Americans is introduced to the realities of spending, saving and finance at a younger age than the last. Yet for many years, our nation's financial literacy has not kept pace. Many young people today take jobs with salaries far beyond what their parents earned. They also begin to live a lifestyle they believe fits that income, including cars, boats and luxury vacations. Many realize too late that what their parents have is the result of accumulation over years of hard work. The younger generation discovers their income cannot keep up with their spending, and they fall into debt. In the worst cases, these bad financial practices can eventually lead to broken marriages, families and futures. CLICK HERE TO ORDER The Coalition produces a quarterly newsletter called the "Jump$tart Update" designed to keep educators informed about personal finance education tools and concepts, sample lesson plans, upcoming events and the activities of the Coalition and member organizations. Receive a sample copy of the newsletter by calling (202) 466-8604. Order online by clicking here. The Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy 919 18th Street, N.W. Suite 300 Washington, DC 20006 Phone: (888) 45-EDUCATE Fax: (202) 223-0321 Email: info@jumpstartcoalition.org Copyright © 1997-2007 The Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy. All rights reserved.