Hillsboro, OH – (April 8, 2015) – National Cooperative Bank (NCB), a leading financial institution which provides banking products and services to Southern Ohio and the nation's cooperatives, their members and other socially responsible organizations, announced today that in celebration of Financial Literacy Month, that its schools-based financial education program has now reached more than 700 students. NCB has partnered with leading education technology company EverFi, to bring this interactive, web-based financial management program to local county schools for the last two academic years.
Money Matters is a web-based interactive course designed to empower young people with the essential skills needed to make sound financial decisions. A FINRA-funded study released in February 2015 found that students who received rigorous financial education saw increased credit scores and decreased chance of credit delinquency as young adults, compared to their peers who did not receive financial education. The study went on to say that these positive outcomes are most pronounced when rigorous financial education is mandated in a school setting. Money Matters is implemented in a co-curricular basis, providing teachers with a valuable tool to use with students in a classroom setting.
“More and more evidence suggests that rigorous financial education delivered early in a young person’s development leads to positive financial behaviors later in life," said Deb Jones, NCB Ohio Co-President. “By providing students with the knowledge and skills they need to make smart financial decisions, we are investing in the future economic well-being of the communities we serve.”
NCB has partnered with EverFi to bring the program to local students at no cost to schools or taxpayers. The web-based program for elementary and middle schools features an interactive, new-media learning platform specifically designed to introduce financial literacy skills early in a child’s cognitive development. The 2.5-hour curriculum aligns with both state and national standards, and includes topics such as saving, budgeting, responsibility and decision-making, credit and debt, careers, income, charity, and more.
NCB has offered this program to all five Highland County Schools and Fayetteville-Perry High School. Currently utilizing the program are Hillsboro High School, Fairfield High School, Lynchburg-Clay High School and Fayetteville-Perry High School. NCB awards the school with the highest percentage of students completing the program a $2,000 technology grant each year and also awards one student from each participating school a $1,000 scholarship annually.
