Monday, March 16, 2009 – (Dallas, TX) –Students in the Dallas Independent School District who take advantage of the economics class being offered this summer in 11 of Dallas ISD’s 22 high schools, will be exposed to the National Endowment for Financial Education’s (NEFE) critically-acclaimed High School Financial Planning Program (HSFPP). The Texas Credit Union Foundation (Foundation), in continued dialogue with Dallas ISD, met last week with several school officials, including Robert Edison, the district’s director of Social Studies.
According to Edison, the timing of the meeting was excellent, as he was in the process of reviewing financial education programs that could be incorporated into the district’s economics curriculum. HB 492 requires school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to incorporate instruction in personal financial literacy into any course meeting a requirement for an economics credit, using materials approved by the State Board of Education.
“All kids should really be exposed to financial education, and anything we can do to promote financial literacy is good for our students and good for the district,” said Barbara Thomas, instructional supervisor for Dallas ISD’s Social Studies department.
The fully revised NEFE curriculum is Texas Education Agency-approved, and meets all Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) requirements for course instruction in personal finance. Courtney Nickles, associate director for the Foundation, explains that the NEFE curriculum is built around seven target competencies, 43 learning objectives and 53 learning outcomes. And unlike many other financial education curriculums that come at a cost, the HSFPP is absolutely free. Additionally, the Foundation offers free “train the trainer” workshops that offer step-by-step instruction on how to most effectively deliver the course material.
“Just as you are committed to ensuring your students are empowered to make wise choices when it comes to managing their money, we are committed to ensuring you have the tools and resources to be successful,” she told school officials.
D Newkirk, community outreach manager with City Credit Union in Dallas, was instrumental in bringing the Foundation and school officials together. A member of the Foundation’s NEFE Network, a group of more than 150 credit union volunteers committed to assisting the Foundation in deploying the NEFE curriculum into school districts across the state, Newkirk was persistent in getting school officials to review the NEFE curriculum.
Newkirk and representatives from the Foundation met initially with Jane Didear, partnership coordinator in the district’s Communications Department, and Joanne Frantzen, director of Career Education and Workforce Partnerships. Impressed with the financial literacy competition component that Newkirk had proposed, the two agreed that the NEFE curriculum would be a good fit for the district’s Career Education program and should be considered for Social Studies as well.
At last week’s meeting with officials from Dallas ISD’s Social Studies department, Newkirk committed to developing a mini-financial literacy competition that could easily be completed in the 22-day summer economics class. Newkirk is modeling the financial literacy competition after the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) program.
In June, the Foundation plans to train approximately 12 summer school economics teachers on the NEFE curriculum. Each of the teachers will receive an instructor's manual, course presentation materials, student workbook, and practical hands-on content training.
The summer school program runs from June 17 – July 24. All Dallas ISD junior/seniors can take advantage of the Economics class. If the NEFE curriculum is well received by students and the teachers, Edison said he would be comfortable incorporating the NEFE curriculum into economics classes during the regular school year. This would deliver the financial education to as many as 7,000 Dallas ISD students during the 2009-2010 school year.
