In November of 2011, USA Education Secretary -- Arne Duncan -- urged the Advisory Council on Financial Capability to the White House to begin teaching financial literacy starting with kindergarten students.
We are proud that Mind Treasures' ABCs of Wealth financial literacy curriculum was implemented at Porter Elementary school for all 650 students in grades 2 through 5 as part of their daily curriculum in October of 2011. Porter Elementary is part of the San Diego Unified District (8th largest district in the United States). Teams of trained facilitators, assistants, and volunteers visited 26 classrooms while regular teachers attended mandatory meetings outside of their classrooms. Over a 6-month period, students in lower (2 & 3) and upper (4 & 5) grades, respectively received 10 and 20 hours of financial literacy and leadership skills.
Principal Lillie McMillan from Porter Elementary just shared the following story with us:
"After completing Mind Treasures training one of the 3rd grade teachers organized an initiative for the students so they could raise funds for 'Pasta For Pennies' benefiting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Many students were skeptical about the initial goal of $3,000. Each student used her/his treasure box/piggy bank to collect as much as they could. We are proud that our school has been able to raise over $5,000 for this cause."
We would like to acknowledge our individual, corporate, and foundation sponsors and encourage you to join our team as we plan on expanding this program one school at a time. Visit Mind Treasures' website at www.mindtreasures.org.
Our corporate and foundation sponsors:
The Legler Benbough, Boys & Girls, Parker, Weingart, and Neighborhood Unity Foundations
San Diego Gas & Electric, Wells Fargo Bank, Mission Federal Credit Union, Sony Electronic, The California Endowment, Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, San Diego County Employees Charitable Organization
Please forward this message to your friends, family, and colleagues
With much appreciation,
Mind Treasures' Team