RALEIGH – Nearly 40 high school teachers representing various school districts across the state are gathering on the Campbell University Raleigh Campus for a week-long program June 26-30 with Campbell’s Lundy-Fetterman School of Business to learn innovative ways to teach financial literacy and economic education to their students.
The Economic & Personal Finance Institute arose from a partnership between Campbell’s Business School’s Center for Financial Literacy & Economic Education (CFLEE) and the North Carolina Council on Economic Education. It aims to help teachers meet recent state mandates requiring students to receive a passing grade in this area to graduate.
The five-day workshop aims to give teachers a refresher course and new information on government and economic systems, cost and benefits of trade, building wealth and training students for high-demand jobs in finance. At the end of the week, teachers earn a professional development certificate and receive access to lesson plans and digital resources to take back to their respective schools.
North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt thanked teachers in a welcome video for taking time out of their summer breaks to learn more about economics and personal finance.
“After all, most of us probably were never taught this information when we were in high school,” she explained. “Learning something as simple as how to balance a checkbook wasn’t part of the curriculum. Nor were the potential hazards that come with credit cards, student debt, car loans and other forms of debt let alone the benefits of learning to save … The Class of 2024 will be the first to have this course (Economic and Personal Finance) as a graduation requirement for high school.”
Other states that have taken a similar step have seen improvement on at least one key indicator: their average credit scores have risen in the years after implementation, Truitt added.
Campbell’s Dr. Shahriar Mostashari leads the CFLEE, which was launched in 2017 as part of a national network of centers for economic education affiliated with the national Council for Economic Education.
“I just want to thank everyone at the law school and NCCEE for helping us with this event and Superintendent Truitt for taking the time to record a statement for our attendees since she could not make it to the training in person,” Mostashari said.
Last summer, North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall JD ’81, the first woman ever elected to a statewide executive branch office in North Carolina, joined the class for lunch.
“Teachers do not enter this profession for the income, they are most interested in the outcomes their students produce; what you all are doing here is going to be life changing,” Marshall stated last summer during the program as she talked with the teachers on the importance of financial literacy. “If you improve one family’s life, you will be a hero.”
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY & ECONOMIC EDUCATION (CFLEE)
The mission of the Center for Financial Literacy and Economic Education, which is part of a national network of centers for economic education affiliated with the Council for Economic Education, is to promote financial literacy and economic education in greater Harnett County and surrounding regions. Housed at Campbell Business, the Center works with Campbell’s School of Education & Human Sciences and the College of Arts & Sciences to deliver programs to the K-12 educators and their students while also engaging in community outreach programs for the public. The Center also serves as a one-stop information hub for free and unbiased educational resources to assist Campbell stakeholders including faculty, staff, students, alumni and community partners in making knowledgeable choices that will improve the economic well-being of themselves, their families and their communities.