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 The National Foundation for Financial Education (NEFE) introduced its revised and updated High School Financial Planning Program (HSFPP) earlier this year. Illinois Youth Involvement Council (IYIC) Chairperson, Kerry Fearn, Area Educational CU, attended NEFE's program launch in Denver, CO.
"The material is awesome," said Fearn. "It clearly outlines the goals and expectations, and I think students as well as teachers will find it appealing and user-friendly. Best of all NEFE provides it for free!"
The NEFE gathering attracted some 150 credit union and Cooperative Extension financial literacy advocates representing 45 states and the District of Columbia. IYIC is working closely with Illinois Cooperative Extension to schedule training sessions for teachers and credit union staff on the new curriculum.
The HSFPP curriculum has undergone some major changes to better fit the needs of students in all 50 states and attendees learned how to launch the program in their respective states and aid high school teachers in sharing the new curriculum with students. In addition, NEFE has launched three websites, one for each target audience of students, parents and teachers.
Credit unions have the option of partnering with local schools to bring the program to students or hosting educational workshops for members, both teens and adults. "Cooperative extension has a long history with NEFE and the schools, so they are a wonderful resource for credit unions,"said Fearn.
HSFPP Facts:
- CUNA has underwritten the cost of HSFPP since 2000;
- More than 700 credit unions in 28 states have brought the NEFE high school program to more than 460,000 students — about 15 percent of the 3.5 million total student enrollments since 2000;
- A task force began revising the NEFE program in 2006 to make it even better, using funds donated by the state credit union foundations of Colorado, Iowa, Missouri and Pennsylvania;
- In many cases the distribution of the NEFE program was the result of collaboration between credit unions and local U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension specialists;
- Created in 1984, the HSFPP is a seven-unit curriculum program that teaches the basics of money management to millions of students in all 50 states;
- The program is available at no cost to high schools and organizations.
For more information on the new HSFPP program, visit the NEFE Web site.
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