Preparing Students for Financial Success with the High School Financial Planning Program
Preparing Students for Financial Success with the High School Financial Planning Program
In celebration of April and Financial Capability Month, the Making Cents Project is showcasing a different financial education program or resource each day of the month. The 16th in this series is the High School Financial Planning Program from the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). Do you teach personal finance to high school students? If so, the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program® (HSFPP) should be part of your teaching toolkit. A free, comprehensive, basic personal finance curriculum, the program is intended for in-person teaching and is designed to be relevant to the lives of teens, ages 13-19. It works well in classrooms, workshops, and one-on-one situations.[embed]https://youtu.be/-v175sMFMMk[/embed]The program has been in existence since 1984 and has gone through multiple revisions and enhancements over time - each based on independent evaluations. Nowadays the educator materials are all online, but one of the most beloved aspects of the program has not changed. Teachers can still order new print copies of the student guides each year for all of their students. An individual guide is available for each of the program’s six topical modules, so teachers can order only those that pertain to their unit(s) of study and customize the order of instruction.
The specific skills students learn about and practice in the six modules are planning, borrowing, earning capability, investing, financial services, and insurance. In addition to the student guides, the program includes an assortment of 45-minute teacher lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, assessments, and a growing collection of online resources and learning activities. You can choose to use some or all of the lessons and activities as you decide what works for your students and timeframes.Between July and December 2017, NEFE fulfilled requests from Pennsylvania educators for nearly 17,000 student guides! All online and printed materials are noncommercial, unbiased and available at no cost to individuals and organizations for non-commercial use. Student workbooks also are available to order at no cost.Interested in learning more? Watch the introduction video or flip through the pages of the program overview to learn more. To get started, educators must request a teacher username and password in order to view and download the full program materials. Requests are usually granted quickly and are also free of charge. You can also order a free information kit with hard copy samples of each of the student guides and information about the program.