Bank of Edwardsville honored for financial literacy program
EDWARDSVILLE – The Bank of Edwardsville was honored recently by NASDAQ and EverFi for its work in helping educate local students at the 2016 Financial Education Awards ceremony in New York City, earning the 2015-16 Financial Education Innovation Award.
“The Bank of Edwardsville has been a wonderful partner with us for several years and has made such a big impact in the lives of thousands of students through its Financial Literacy Program,” Tim Convey, vice president of EverFi, said.
The bank’s schools-based financial education program is making a positive impact on students’ understanding critical financial topics. Data collected from more than 2,800 students who completed the program in the 2015 school year revealed that students’ understanding of financial topics increased by an average 35 percent after interacting with the curriculum.
“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 Rob Schwartz, senior vice president of retail banking at the bank. “By providing high school 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.”
The financial Literacy program is a web-based interactive course designed to empower young people with the essential skills needed to make sound financial decisions. The bank has partnered with leading education technology company EverFi to bring this interactive program to 17 high schools in Illinois at no cost. High schools currently using the bank program include, Metro East Lutheran, Triad, Edwardsville, East St. Louis, Granite City, Madison, Highland, O’Fallon, Belleville Althoff, Alton, Alton Marquette, Collinsville, Belleville East, Belleville West, Bethalto-Civic Memorial, East Alton-Wood River and Roxana.
According to recent EverFi survey data, children in the US primarily develop their financial attitudes from their parents through family discussions and learning by example. However, a FleetBoston Smarter Decisions Survey cites that 74 percent of parents don’t feel prepared to teach their children about money and over 40 percent of parents don’t talk to their children about money at all. These statistics support the need for financial education in a school setting, where all students have an equal opportunity to learn essential financial skills. The Financial Literacy Program is implemented in a co-curricular basis, providing students with the opportunity to develop healthy financial attitudes and behaviors in a classroom setting.
The program uses the latest in simulations and gaming to bring complex financial concepts to life for today’s digital generation. The high school course offers over eight hours of programming with 10 units in a variety of financial topics including credit scores, insurance, credit cards, student loans, mortgages, taxes, stocks, savings, 401k’s and other critical concepts that map to national financial literacy standards. The platform uniquely tracks the progress and performance of every student.
About EverFi
EverFi, Inc. is an education technology company focused on teaching, assessing, and certifying K-12 and college students in the critical skills they need for life. The company teams with major corporations and foundations to provide the programs at no cost to K-12 schools. Some of America’s leading CEOs and venture capital firms are EverFi investors including Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Twitter founder Evan Williams, and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt. Learn more at everfi.com.
— From the Illinois Business Journal
