Our Financial Literacy Program
1 out of 5 Teenage Students Lack Basic Financial Literacy Skills
“It’s clear that we need a better national strategy to teach youth…we need to have a clear set of standards for providing well-thought-out financial education that is relevant and establishes positive behaviors. Additionally, we need to continue to train educators to effectively deliver financial education and ensure that we are meeting the needs of Americans from all socio-economic backgrounds.”
—Billy Hensley, Ph.D., senior director of education with the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE)
“It’s clear that we need a better national strategy to teach youth…we need to have a clear set of standards for providing well-thought-out financial education that is relevant and establishes positive behaviors. Additionally, we need to continue to train educators to effectively deliver financial education and ensure that we are meeting the needs of Americans from all socio-economic backgrounds.”
—Billy Hensley, Ph.D., senior director of education with the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE)
Champion is bringing solutions to the nation’s epic lack of financial literacy skills one student, one school at a time. With American students lacking in basic financial literacy education, it has left them making imprudent life impacting financial decisions. Decisions that may take years, if not decades, for those individuals to financially recover.
The evidence is everywhere…student loan default is an epidemic and over 766,000 Americans filed bankruptcy in 2017. Just those two indicators show that we are a nation with a massive financial literacy issue and we need programs that provide financial literacy education.
The Arizona legislature and Governor Ducey support increased financial literacy education and the state of Arizona has recently taken action. New programs will give Arizona students the opportunity to earn the State Seal of Personal Finance Proficiency on their high school diplomas. Champion for Success and the state of Arizona are not alone in pursuing ways to combat financial illiteracy. Results from the 2017 study by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) show startling statistics on this important issue (review the study), including:
- One in five (22 percent) U.S. teenage students lack basic financial literacy skills.
- Three percent of U.S. students from lower-income schools were high performers, compared to 45 percent of students from higher-income schools.
- Among the low performers, 38 percent of students were from lower-income schools, compared to 16 percent from higher-income schools.
- Among 15 participating countries and economies, the United States ranks 7th in the evaluation of 15-year-olds’ aptitude in understanding essential financial concepts, products and risks.
Champion for Success Offers Financial Literacy Resources
Champion for Success, in conjunction with Champion College Solutions, has taken a proactive role in financial literacy education by teaching classes in Arizona high schools to educate kids on financial basics. This endeavor is backed by the three decades of experience Champion has had in successfully mentoring over 3 million people on student loan repayment and other financial skills.
Let Champion help your students get smart about basic life skills. Our FREE 90-minute presentation, Financial Literacy 101, is taught at your school and in your classroom. In this short session your students will learn about the following basic skills:
- Goal setting
- Types of income
- Components of a budget
- Different types of debt
- Wise spending habits
- Making sense of credit concepts
Our presentations are customizable to best fit your students’ needs and your instructional goals.