MEDIA ADVISORY: April is National Financial Literacy Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, April 4, 2008
Media Contacts:
Jason Bearce, 317-232-6618, jbearce@doe.in.gov
Peggy Wild, 317-232-9169, pwild@doe.in.gov
Barb Beadle, 317-232-9179, bbeadle@doe.in.gov

Each year, the US Congress designates April National Financial Literacy Month to raise public awareness of the importance of financial education. News of the recent mortgage and loan crisis underscores the serious consequences that may result from a lack of understanding about personal finances.

The Indiana Department of Education has led the development of financial literacy education academic standards for Indiana's students. These standards, along with middle school teaching/learning units, can be integrated with existing standards in other subjects or can be used to guide instruction in separate units. A wide variety of resource materials and activities designed to help Indiana students achieve financial literacy standards are available online at www.doe.in.gov/octe/facs/IndianaFinLitEd-FrontPage.html.

Indiana Department of Education staff has developed middle school performance levels of expectation that students should achieve by the end of eighth grade. It continues to develop similar expectations for elementary and high school students as well as provide additional teaching/learning resources and assessment strategies for teachers.