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Celebrating Financial Literacy in
North Carolina Schools Throughout the Year!
This special edition of the Social Studies Update is about K-12 financial literacy in North Carolina and spotlights related policies, legislation, instructional resources, professional learning opportunities, and the Economics and Personal Finance Course (EPF).
Financial literacy is a need for all
Americans and North Carolinians!
Did you know that...
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North Carolina high school students ranked #1 in financial literacy after 1st year of mandatory personal finance classes
- Residents of North Carolina rank sixth nationally for their financial literacy
- "Although North Carolina’s requirement that all public high school students must pass a personal finance class before they can graduate has been in place for only one school year, the effects must be working. The state ranked first for its high school literacy grade..."
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"Overall North Carolinians ranked 20th for “wallet literacy,” fifth for financial planning and habits and 28th for financial knowledge and education..."
From WGHP Fox 8 News
Economics and Personal Finance Course
To learn more about the EPF legislation, the EPF course, and EPF required PD, please
view this updated informational slideshow.
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Recap: EPF Roundtable Discussion Success!
We're thrilled to announce the resounding success of our Roundtable Discussion about the Economics and Personal Finance (EPF) course at the 2024 NC Council for the Social Studies Conference in Greensboro!
Educators from across North Carolina came together for an engaging and insightful session, where our esteemed panelists shared their wealth of knowledge and experiences in Economics and Personal Finance (EPF) education.
Throughout the discussion, attendees actively participated, asked thought-provoking questions and were engaged with the panelists' experiences and insights. Attendees also were able to network and connect with the panelists and each other based on various economics and personal finance topics and concepts.
From sharing best practices to discussing challenges and lessons learned, the conversation was rich with valuable takeaways for EPF educators at all levels.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to our dedicated panelists for their expertise and to all attendees for their enthusiastic participation. Together, we're shaping the future of EPF education in North Carolina!
Stay tuned for more opportunities to connect and collaborate as we continue to support and elevate EPF education across our state.
The Esteemed Panel of EPF Educators
- Gretchyn Bedard (Region 6- Iredell-Statesville Schools)
- Tonya Hannah (Region 3- Wake County Public School System)
- Charlene Martin-Klein- SS District Leader (Region 3- Durham County Schools)
- Dan Roseman NCVPS Teacher and SS District Leader (Region 6- Iredell-Statesville Schools)
- Crystal Shue (Region 3- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools)
- Amber Sluder (Region 5- Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools)
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Travis Towne (Region 2- Lenoir County Public Schools)
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North Carolina is recognized for Economics and Personal Finance Course Legislation and Policies in NGPF’s 2024 State of Financial Education Report
Each year, NGPF analyzes thousands of course catalogs from U.S. public high schools to pinpoint access to a standalone semester course in Personal Finance – the gold standard of Mission 2030.
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This year, North Carolina has been recognized as one of the 25 states that have implemented policies to ensure that all students in their public high schools take at least one semester course in Personal Finance before graduation.
To learn more about the state of financial education in the United States, the impact of financial education on students, and a case study on North Carolina's Economics and Personal Finance course, please
read the 2024 report.
NGPF’s 2024 State of Financial Education Report
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Economics and Personal Finance Legislation and Required Professional Development from NCCEE
According to House Bill 924/Senate Law 2019-82, Economics and Personal Finance (EPF) teachers and prospective Economics and Personal Finance (EPF) teachers are required to receive professional development provided by the North Carolina Council on Economic Education (NCCEE). "When practicable, teachers shall complete the EPF professional development course prior to teaching the EPF course in public schools. If necessary, teachers may begin teaching the EPF course in public schools while awaiting the next possible opportunity to complete a session of the EPF professional development course".
To learn more about the EPF legislation, the EPF course, and EPF required PD, please
view this updated informational slideshow.
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NCCEE: Register for EPF Summer Professional Development Institutes
Space is limited!
The North Carolina Council on Economic Education (NCEE) will be providing several opportunities this summer for North Carolina teachers who are or will be teaching the graduation requirement course, Economics and Personal Finance (EPF).
There are still some opportunities for educators to attend a week-long, 40-hour institute that will equip them with the tools, skills, and knowledge they need to be prepared to teach the Economics and Personal Finance course.
Please visit www.nccee.org/events to view the session dates and locations.
For questions about the EPF Summer Institutes, please contact Sandy Wheat or Stephanie Cales.
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PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
Tune in to watch our educational webinar series on financial literacy for teachers in North Carolina. This series provides a great opportunity to improve your teaching skills and empower your students with essential financial literacy knowledge and skills.
During the first webinar, we discussed the Economics and Personal Finance (EPF) course with teachers from Guilford County Schools (GCS) and their district EPF Specialist. Additionally, NextGen Personal Finance shared their no-cost, standards-aligned personal finance materials, providing valuable resources for educators.
In the second webinar, we explored how North Carolina teachers integrate financial literacy into their content, with insights from EVERFI leaders. EVERFI also offers no-cost, standards-aligned personal finance and economic materials, providing valuable tools for educators.
By watching both webinars, you can unlock the benefits of financial literacy education for your students, and gain practical strategies and resources to enhance your curriculum and empower students to make informed financial decisions for life.
We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to our partners, Grace Ting and Tori Mansfield from NGPF, and Jackie Oleszewski and Jess Richter from EVERFI. We are also grateful for the opportunity to showcase the expertise of experienced educators from North Carolina who possess a wealth of knowledge in teaching Economics and Personal Financial courses or integrating financial literacy into their content. We feel honored to have featured such accomplished teacher-presenters
The Knowledgeable and Accomplished Teacher-Presenters are:
- Kelly Barber (Region 3- Wake County Public School System)
- Marcel Drayton (Region 6- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools)
- Laverne Godfrey Jones (Cumberland County Schools)
- Mische Franken (Region 5- Guilford County Schools)
- Heather Hahn (Region 5- Guilford County Schools)
- Lateshia Hawkins (Region 5- Guilford County Schools)
- Crystal Johnson (Region 6- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools)
Access recordings and discover the wisdom shared by these educators, as well as explore instructional tools from EVERFI and NGPF, by using the link provided to access the tab for the folder, SS Professional Learning for Specific Classes. Use the link in the title of the session and enter the password: Socialstudies!1.
To view the on-demand webinars, click on the folder tab,
SS Professional Learning for Specific Classes.
Then, use the link in the title of the session and enter the password: Socialstudies!1
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NCCEE Professional Development and Opportunities
The North Carolina Council for Economic Education (NCCEE) provides free in-service training, sample lesson plans, teaching strategies, and resources to equip teachers with the knowledge, skills, tools, and confidence needed to educate students on financial literacy. Upon request, they will visit a school or school district to provide professional development to teachers.
Register for Upcoming PD Sessions or for On-going Webinars
Access Games and Activities
Request Guest Speakers for your classroom.
For more information about NCCEE's numerous opportunities to help students be more financially literate, visit NCCEE’s website or contact Sandy Wheat for specific questions.
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Next Gen Personal Finance: PD Starter Pack to Refresh Content Knowledge
Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) is an endowment-funded nonprofit that provides personal finance curriculum and professional development – at no cost.
The NGPF Starter Pack, made up of 12 On-Demand modules covering core personal finance topics, is a great way for teachers to build or refresh fundamental content knowledge. Each of the key content areas is covered by two one-hour modules, with essential content from NGPF’s popdckmular certification courses condensed into a flexible, self-paced format using the Nearpod platform.
- Banking & Budgeting
- Credit
- Insurance
- Investing
- Paying for College
- Taxes
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CFNC Program: Financial Basics for High School and Beyond
Financial Basics for High School and Beyond is a FREE financial education program available online at CFNC.org. It can be taken independently by any student in North Carolina.
Financial Basics can be used as a resource for teaching Personal Financial Literacy in both Social Studies and CTE courses.
Highlights of the Financial Basics program include:
- 15 graded mini-courses
- Courses take between 15 and 30 minutes to complete
- A financial aid video library
- Curriculum maps for Social Studies and CTE courses.
- Classroom-based student and assignment tracking
Check out additional CFNC the following resources for:
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Instructional Resources
Take Charge Today has FREE Financial Education Resources for Middle and High School Students
Take Charge Today provides educators nationwide with free, instructional resource materials, grants, professional development, newsletters, and other tools that allow teachers to use or integrate lessons related to money management into middle and high school classrooms.
Learn More
Next Gen Personal Finance: Conference Resources
Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) is an endowment-funded nonprofit that provides personal finance curriculum and professional development – at no cost.
NGPF celebrates financial literacy everyday! Access the resources from their most recent conferences, including sessions on:
Check the site regularly for upcoming events!
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Pear Deck and Next Gen Personal Finance
Help students learn real-world skills with top-notch lessons made in partnership with Next Gen Personal Finance. Pear Deck lessons are interactive and engaging, which will help teachers to be able to quickly gauge how well students understand financial literacy.
Learn more
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EVERFI: Financial Literacy and K-12 Resources
EVERFI continues to support NC educators with digital resources at no-cost! Their financial literacy, economics, African-American history, On-Demand, and SEL resources are available at no-cost.
EVERFI is excited to share their Financial Literacy Month Hub. On this hub you can find Financial Literacy Planning Calendars, EVERFI getting started guides, Financial Literacy Month Pear Decks, and information about student scholarship opportunities.
To learn more about EVERFI and it's K-12 materials, visit:
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SaveUp is a Savings Simulation. Through engaging self-paced lessons, middle school students are provided with the knowledge and skills they need to become informed consumers on how to save money, thus prompting them to begin saving as early as possible. In this course, students will learn why saving is important, how to budget and spend wisely, how to build an emergency savings, why savings can help reach financial goals, setting short-, mid-, and long-term goals and how to open a savings account.
Learn about Scholarships
Access Modules and Resources for Middle School
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EVERFI: Vault - Understanding Money for Elementary Students
Vault - Understanding Money is a youth entrepreneurship curriculum that teaches students to think entrepreneurially about business and life. Students develop a personalized plan for their individual business, including financing, marketing, team-building, and market research, along with a roadmap for academic and career success through case studies, interactive business simulations, and personal development activities.
Learn more about the importance of financial education for elementary school students
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EVERFI: Venture - Entrepreneurial Expedition
Venture – Entrepreneurial Expedition is a youth entrepreneurship curriculum designed to teach students to think entrepreneurially about business and life.
This student entrepreneurship program isn’t just about teaching kids business terminology. Students develop a personalized plan for their individual business, including financing, marketing, team-building, and market research, along with a roadmap for academic and career success.
Using case studies, interactive business simulations and personal development activities, this course teaches important basic business skills.
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NGPF: Curriculum Resource for the EPF Course
Did you know that NextGen Personal Finance (NGPF) has a no-cost personal finance curriculum resource document?!
Developed by NGPF, the new resource document is an additional tool that can be added to one’s own tool-cabinet of instructional resources for the EPF course. The intent of it is to demonstrate how NGPF's instructional materials and offerings can align to and crosswalk with the North Carolina Economics and Personal Finance Standards. It includes a helpful planning guide that links directly to engaging and customizable resources, including lessons.
Create a free Teacher Account today to access the NGPF crosswalk and planning guide!
For more information or questions, contact Grace Ting, NGPF’s Head of Partnerships & Adoption.
Please note that these resources are not required for use. See disclaimer.
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NCCEE: Stock Market Game and Other Competitions
NCCEE hosts academic competitions for primary and secondary school students focused on economics, personal finance, entrepreneurship, and money management. The competitions support and enhance financial education by following state standards.
A popular online competition that engages students in grades 4-12 in economics, investing, and personal finance is The Stock Market Game™ (SMG). It prepares them for financially independent lives. SMG has reached over 20 million students since its inception and has been proven to raise student test scores and positively impact teachers’ personal financial behavior.
Learn more about SMG and other Competitions (e.g., NC Capitol Challenge, National Economics Challenge, Personal Finance Challenge, etc.)
Request A Guest Speaker for the Stock Market Game (SMG)
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The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
The Economic Education team at the Richmond Fed provides resources and programs for teaching economics, personal finance and the Federal Reserve to elementary, middle and high school students. All resources are free and can either be ordered or downloaded online.
Examples of resource and program topics include:
- College & Career Planning
- Economics
- Federal Reserve
- Monetary Policy
- Scarcity
- Decision Making
- Budgeting and Saving
- Inflation
- Personal Finance
- History
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Disclaimer Statement
Because North Carolina is a local-control state, all curricular decisions are approved at the local level. Prior to implementing any of the materials, teachers should follow appropriate policies and procedures to have content vetted and approved by their school and district leaders.
The links on this resource could bring you to third-party websites, owned and operated by independent parties over which NCDPI has no control. Any link you make to or from these 3rd Party Websites will be at your own risk. Any use of these 3rd Party Websites and any information you provide will be subject to and governed by the terms of the 3rd Party Website, including those relating to confidentiality, data privacy, and security.
Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing, NCDPI is not in any way associated with the owner or operator of any of the 3rd Party Websites or responsible or liable for the goods and services offered by them or for anything in connection with such 3rd Party Websites. NCDPI does not endorse and makes no warranties, representations, or undertakings relating to the content of any 3rd Party Website.
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