Jump$tart Financial Foundations for Educators® (J$FFE) is a collaborative endeavor designed to standardize professional development in personal finance for teachers through a common model.
The J$FFE Model, which was designed to ensure consistency and rigor in national teacher training programs, is administered by the Jump$tart Coalition on behalf of its partners and affiliates.
Contact Foundations@jumpstart.org for more information.
Is your organization interested in conducting in-depth teacher training (for a minimum of 18 course-content hours) in personal finance subject matter?
If yes, the Jump$tart will help you develop a training event using an effective, research-based Model.
Does your organization have experience in professional development for teachers, as well as conducting meetings and events?
Training events based on the Jump$tart Financial Foundations for Educators Model are more similar to courses in personal finance than conferences or seminars, so experience in professional development is important. Experience in handling the logistics of the event itself is critical too. If your organization doesn’t have this expertise; you can fill the need by partnering with organizations or individuals who do.
Is your organization willing to work collaboratively with sponsors, local subject matter experts, volunteers, and other financial literacy stakeholders?
Collaboration is a key element of J$FFE training events and is a required commitment to obtain a free license to use the Model.
Does your organization have the resources to conduct a multi-day event or committed sponsors willing to support the activity?
Since each J$FFE training event is unique, the resources needed and costs associated with each event may vary significantly. Before applying for your free license to use the J$FFE Model, your organization would do well to have a plan and draft budget in place.
Has your organization identified avenues to reach teachers and/or developed a plan for promoting the event to your teacher audience?
If your organization does not have a teacher constituency of its own, you might consider working with partners to reach the teachers likely to attend and to provide the incentives most valued by educators and administrators.
Evaluation of the Jump$tart Financial Foundations for Educators Professional Development Program
This study – conducted by The Financial Literacy Group and made possible through the generous sponsorship of Fidelity Investments, the National Endowment for Financial Education, and the Wells Fargo Foundation – found that the J$FFE professional development program had a substantial impact on the personal finance knowledge gains of students taught by teachers who had completed the J$FFE program. Specifically, high school students taught by trained teachers achieved personal finance knowledge gains that were three times greater than the knowledge gains of students taught by the same teachers before they completed the J$FFE program. Moreover, students from communities that have been historically financially underserved realized an even greater benefit from the training their teachers received, with a fourfold increase in their financial knowledge gains following their teachers’ participation in the J$FFE program.
If your organization has already received its free license to use the Jump$tart Financial Foundations for Educators Model, you should have received a link to the toolkit files.
Please contact our staff if you need assistance with the link or the files.
Or, learn more about the J$FFE Model and apply for a free license to use the toolkit here.
Thank you for your interest in #FuelingFinancialEducation and supporting our nation’s teachers!
Some are conducted by Jump$tart state coalitions; but others may be conducted by universities, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, school districts, etc.—a wide variety of qualified entities.
With the help of some its partners, Jump$tart created—and now administers—the training model on which these events are based. While each training event is unique, the model ensures quality and consistency in the content delivered.
A training event that follows the J$FFE Model will state that clearly in its registration and other materials.
If you represent an organization that conducts teacher training—or wants to—check out the rest of this website and/or contact Jump$tart for assistance. If you are a teacher, talk with some of the organizations that host the training events you usually attend and encourage them to contact us.
Since each training event is conducted by independent organizations, the cost to participate is set by those organizations and may vary based on region, sponsorship support, and other factors.
The J$FFE Model requires users to conduct 18-24 instruction hours. The training event may be longer if the host organization incorporates other optional activities. Usually, the training event occurs over three to five consecutive days—but some organizations have begun to explore non-consecutive days and distance learning.
The professional development credit offered may vary according to local requirements and practices. Some J$FFE training events may also offer graduate credits. Please check with the training event organizers.
The J$FFE Model is designed to provide participants with a foundation of personal finance knowledge that will be applicable regardless of the curriculum or program you use, or the subject matter into which you are integrating personal finance education. In this way, J$FFE training events complement training and support offered by many curriculum providers.
Yes, this training is beneficial to any teacher who teaches personal finance, teaches a related subject, or wants to incorporate personal finance into any subject. The J$FFE Model content focuses on improving your own knowledge of personal finance so that you’re better prepared to teach financial content—or address finance-related questions—within any subject or at any grade level.
Possibly, but it’s up to the event organizer.
Host organizations are encouraged to utilize their own local experts, so instructors will vary from event to event. The J$FFE toolkit offers the host organization guidance on vetting and qualifying instructors/presenters. Financial professionals are prohibited from using these training events as a platform for promoting their own products and services.
Each year, Jump$tart conducts the National Educator Conference, which we feel is a perfect complement to J$TTA teacher training because it focuses on available educational resources and new developments in the field. Additionally, the J$FFE Model was designed to complement the training and conferences offered by our many partners and affiliates.
Nothing. The Jump$tart Financial Foundations is licensed to qualified organizations at no cost to them.
Not long. The online application is actually quite short and once we receive it, you should have an answer within 3-4 weeks. If you’ve provided all the information we need. What may take some time, however, is planning your event.
The J$FFE Model is provided as a toolkit, which will give you extensive guidance on conducting your training event. Additionally, Jump$tart staff are always happy to answer questions and share insights. The event, however, is conducted by your own organization.
The J$FFE Model is designed for local and regional organizations to conduct training events utilizing their local experts and partners. The J$FFE toolkit offers guidance on selecting and vetting instructors/presenters.
The cost will vary greatly, depending on the number of participants, the venue, and many other factors. The J$FFE toolkit will help you to anticipate the costs, but your actual budget will be driven by the circumstances of your event.
Yes. In fact, having at least one collaborator is required and having more is preferred. Generally, one organization would apply as the user, but many organizations can divide up the roles and responsibilities.
Actually, corporations and for-profit businesses may apply to use the J$FFE Model, along with at least one nonprofit or government collaborator. (Keep in mind that all licensed users are required to have at least one collaborator.) Jump$tart developed its model to share with the education community at no cost and this step helps us ensure that the model will be used altruistically, and not for profit.
Once approved as a user, your organization will receive online access to download the entire J$FFE Model as a toolkit.
When you apply, you will agree to the terms of the license, which outlines the privileges and restrictions. Generally, the license gives you access to the J$FFE Model for a full year, which you may use for one or multiple events. We ask users to re-apply each year to ensure that all users are accessing the most updated version of the model. It will remain free.