The Council for Economic Education Convenes Political, Educational Leaders on Advancing Financial Education in New York City
New York, NY (PRWEB) June 05, 2015 -- Today, at the invitation of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans, the Council for Economic Education (CEE) convened political and educational leaders at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to shine a spotlight on the importance of financial literacy. Advancing Financial Education in New York City featured keynote speakers including U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, John W. Rogers, Chairman of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans, and Nan J. Morrison, CEO and President, CEE.
CEE also announced a new partnership between CEE and Working In Support of Education (W!SE) through which schools will now be able to prepare students for the W!SE Financial Literacy Certification Test using CEE’s free online personal finance game Gen i Revolution. Aligned to the core competencies of the W!SE Financial Literacy Certification Test and CEE’s National Standards for Financial Literacy, Gen i Revolution offers students an interactive, engaging way to learn financial skills and concepts.
In a town of 8 million inhabitants, size and diversity present unique challenges to advancing financial literacy—but also create the opportunity to reach and target segments of its population. Working together, organizations like CEE and partners in the private and public sector can address the needs of New York City’s students.
In his remarks, Duncan discussed how financial education helps students realize their full potential and lift them out of poverty. “We have to make sure that every young child in every public school around the nation doesn’t just know this stuff, but loves it,” he continued, crediting the “great teachers” of New York City and around the nation for their work.
Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League and a fellow member of the President’s Advisory Council, told the audience, “We should look at financial capability and financial education as a right for all Americans, and something we need to imbue into the education system.” Morial went on to address the need to scale when approaching financial education, pointing to the “legions of successful programs across the nation.” He continued, “There is no need to duplicate the wheel—we want to lift up what is working, what is getting results.“
Providing an educator’s perspective, Ruben Rivera, a teacher at the Urban Assembly Institute of Math & Science for Young Women, discussed how important it is to connect students to “real life work,” helping them “pull out opportunities, what they want to achieve, what they want earning potential to be,” and more. Having seen first-hand the positive effects of financial literacy on his students, Ruben is convinced that “Infusing this life skill will not only prepare students, it will ultimately improve our economy.”
“This morning’s event showcased the innovative and important work being done in New York City to further financial literacy, and increased the reach of all of our efforts in the space,” said CEE’s Morrison. “As today’s discussion makes abundantly clear, programs of scale and sustainability are essential to further financial education in New York City and elsewhere. We need to identify proven programs based on a set of robust criteria, and implement them at the school or district level to create critical mass.” Support from the private sector is key to achieving these goals, Morrison continued: “In New York City, we lack the funds to provide the curriculum support and professional development. We need those essential resources to move things forward.”
About the Council for Economic Education
The Council for Economic Education is the leading organization in the United States that focuses on the economic and financial education of students from kindergarten through high school - and we have been doing so for over 65 years. We carry out our mission by educating the educators: providing the curriculum tools, the pedagogical support, and the community of peers that instruct, inspire, and guide. All resources and programs are developed by educators, and delivered by our national network of affiliates. Our goal is to reach and teach every child. Each year CEE’s programs reach more than 55,000 K-12 teachers and over 5 million students across the United States.
For further information about the Council for Economic Education please visit: http://www.councilforeconed.org.
Alicia Sellitti, Council for Economic Education, http://www.councilforeconed.org, +1 (917) 822-9010, [email protected]
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