(Archived Content)
FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
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Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Education, Dan Iannicola, Jr. today delivered the keynote address at The Finance and Economic Education for Teachers program at West Virginia University. In his remarks Iannicola congratulated the teachers on successfully completing the program during a luncheon hosted by the West Virginia Securities Commission.
Deputy Assistant Secretary Iannicola advised the teachers on how to pick the best financial education program for their classrooms and how to present financial education topics for maximum impact on student learning and retention. According to a 1999 Youth & Money survey of 1,000 students,of those who took a financial education class, 41 percent began saving, and 28 percent increased their savings.*
Iannicola commended the teachers for their strong commitment to America's students and reminded the teachers of the critical role educators and education play in American society. On the road of social mobility, education is the passing lane. Education is how someone goes from driving a truck to owning ten trucks. It's how today's bookkeeper becomes tomorrow's CPA. It's how you go from being a secretary to having a secretary. It's the reason we can say that in America, any child, from anywhere, can grow up to do anything, said Iannicola.
The Finance and Economic Education for Teachers program, organized by the West Virginia Securities Commission and the West Virginia Jump$tart Coalition, is a teacher training academy which focuses instruction on credit management, saving and investing and retirement decisions. The training provides teachers four days of intensive course work on personal finance topics that can be integrated into the classroom. Over sixty teachers participating in the program received training on various topics including consumer credit, banking services, saving and investing, financial pitfalls, budgeting basics, retirement decisions and ethics. The teachers also received financial education instructional materials they can take back to their classrooms.
Representatives from state government and nonprofit organizations also participated in today's event, including: Glen Gainer, West Virginia State Auditor and Commissioner of Securities; Roger Moony, West Virginia Jump$tart Treasurer; and Bill Cheeks, Jump$tart Regional Director.
The Department of the Treasury is a leader in promoting financial education. Treasury established the Office of Financial Education (Office) in May 2002. The Office works to promote access to the financial education tools that can help all Americans make wiser choices in all areas of personal financial management, with a special emphasis on saving, credit management, home ownership and retirement planning. The Office also coordinates the efforts of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, a group chaired by the Secretary of Treasury and composed of representatives from 20 federal departments, agencies and commissions, which works to improve financial literacy and education for people throughout the United States. For more information about the Office of Financial Education visit: www.treas.gov/financialeducation.
* Ronnie Lynn, Utah high schools making money matter of course, The Salt Lake Tribune, August 18, 2003