First Quarter 2006

Local CUs join in Googolplex@school research project

Nine credit unions were partnered with ten middle schools in northern Illinois as part of the Googolplex@school (G@S) research project, which took place during November 2005.

The League and Credit Union National Association coordinated the research project. Grants from the National Credit Union Foundation and the Illinois Credit Union Foundation made the project possible. G@S is a national in-school program that was developed exclusively for America’s credit unions to teach middle school students about spending and saving using a 45-minute performance by professional actors from the National Theatre for Children. In addition to the live improvisational skits, the program has a teacher’s guide and student workbooks, which are used in classrooms to reinforce the concepts presented in the play.

The G@S research project brought the program to ten middle schools in low- and middle-income, urban and rural communities in Northern Illinois. Participating credit unions were: North Side Community FCU, Chicago; Chicago Municipal Employees CU, Chicago; South Side Community FCU, Chicago; Winnebago County Schools CU, Pecatonica; Cornerstone CU, Shannon; Advantage One CU, Morrison; Morrison Community CU, Morrison; Milledgeville Community CU, Chadwick; NorthStar CU, Aurora; and United CU, Chicago.

The goal of the research project is to document statistically significant improvements in students’ personal finance knowledge, attitudes and behavior as a result of participating in G@S. Lewis Mandell, PhD., professor of finance and managerial economics at State University of New York, Buffalo, will conduct the research and program evaluation. Results will be released at the beginning of 2006.

For more information about Googolplex@school, go to CUNA’s Web site and type “Googolplex” in the search box.

© 2006 Illinois Credit Union League. All rights reserved.