The 4 RsExpanding Your Horizons 2014

Texas Council on Economic Education

Financial Mentors of AmericaLaura Ewing - Laura@EconomicsTexas.org

www.EconomicsTexas.orgLorraine Decker - Lorraine@FinancialMentors.org

www,GameofRealLife.org

Step into Your Child’s or Student’s Future

What do you want for your

teens?

Happy A career they love Nice standard of living - Self-sufficient Excellent health Giving back to the community - Making a

differenceTraditionally, teens learned these values and skills

from parents.

But because they are teens, sometimes it is difficult to teach them all they need to know.

Now you have help. YOUR school district is now your partner.

Four Rs Reading,‘Riting,‘Rithmetic & Rate of Return• 2008 – 12th grade economics course

must teach macro economics, micro economics, personal financial literacy (PFL) and how to pay for college (2011)

• 2011 PFL added to K-8th grade math with implementation in middle school starting Sept 2014

Four Rs Reading,‘Riting,‘Rithmetic & Rate of Return

• 2013 – 2 major changes occurred that impact YOU and the students.

• HB 5 - change graduation standards to assure students will be career and college ready & require every 8th grade and high school student to have a plan for graduation

• HB 2662 - every high school student must be offered a 1-semester PFL elective that includes information on FAFSA. Will it make a difference in the future of your teen?

Foundation Plan (22 Credits) (1 credit = 1 yr)◦ English – 4 credits◦ Math – 3 credits◦ Science – 3 credits◦ Social Studies – 3 credits◦ Language, other than English – 2 credits ◦ Physical Ed – 1 credit◦ Fine Arts – 1 credit◦ 5 Electives (CTE or certification courses) – 5

credits

HB 5 - Career & Academic Paths

17 Base

Endorsements (4 Credits)◦ Advanced Math or CTE Math – 1 credit◦ Advanced Science or CTE Science – 1 credit◦ Electives – 2 credits

Career & Academic Paths

STEM Business & Industry Public Service

Arts / Humanities

Multidisciplinary

1. Goal – Post-secondary education is important for being self-sufficient and obtaining an occupation paying $35,000 or more.

2. Goal – Graduate from HS “career and college ready”

What should you expect?

OCCUPATION MATTERS* 43% with licenses or certificates earn more than AA degree* 27% with licenses or certificates earn more than Bachelor's Degree* 31% with AA degree earn more than Bachelor’s Degree* 50% of STEM jobs don’t require a Bachelor’s Degree and pay $53k av.

3. Goal – Understand the cost of post-secondary education (PSE).

◦ Know the cost of PSE – research schools now◦ Identify resources – complete practice FAFSA, Texas

grants, PELL grants, Fastweb, free tuition opportunities ◦ How much will you (parent) pay? Will resource be from

savings or net earned income? What are the terms of “investment”? Graduate in 4, 6 or 8 years? GPA? Are you paying for a Masters or PhD?

◦ How much will the student pay? Savings, Scholarships, Work and Loans - average college debt = $35,200 (2013) with a payoff of $140,000.

What should you expect?

4 Goal – Reduce the cost of PSE while in high school◦ Take AP (Advanced Placement), dual credit classes with

community or 4-yr colleges◦ Obtain AA (Associates of Arts) degree, or certificate/licenses

if they will advance your career◦ Take the PSAT seriously -> National Merit Qualifying

Scholarship Test = free ride to college◦ Take SAT preps – often free, online – and before the PSAT◦ Select PFL elective in high school. Ask for the Game of Real

Life. Real Life integrates PFL with career discovery and post-secondary planning, using team building, experiential learning, parent and community engagement, critical thinking and social and emotional learning.

◦ Before high school, ask for Connect the Dots.

What should you expect?

5. Goal – Students needs to be better prepared for PSE

◦ Learn how to study and build critical thinking skills◦ Self-imposed study or homework 2 hours / night◦ Take MOOCS (Massively Open Online Courses), Khan

Academy, YouTube audio books, TEDX◦ Work in summer, paid or unpaid internships, volunteer

(volunteermatch.org), have summer learning opportunities6. Goal – Have a solid plan for your student to

accomplish these goals as they enter high school (do not allow them to waste 9th grade).

What should you expect?

8th GRADE & Model HS Plan

Middle School Math PFL TEKS

by Texas Council of Economic Education

andConnect the Dots

by Financial Mentors of America

PFL will be tested in 2015. Make sure it will be taught in class

Ask to see math textbook. Review the PFL chapter in September

Create practical ways to teach your children PFL subject matter

Use economicstexas.org as a free resource of great material for allgrades

Middle School Math PFL TEKS

Ask for CTD in your middle school Integrates

◦ Career Discovery with interest assessments and career mentors◦ Personal Financial Education◦ Preparation and planning for

Post-Secondary Education ◦ Experiential learning◦ Students create a 5-year high

school Action Plan with Endorsements◦ file://localhost/Users/lorrainedecker/Documents/My Videos

/Game Videos/Game 2011- Fox 26.mp4

◦ YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q6EXgKFUHE

Connect the Dots

Create a plan with the 6 goals. Contact your school district and advocate for

◦ Teacher PFL training◦ Game of Real Life in high school◦ Connect the Dots and Stock Market Game in

middle school Contact your employer, PTO and friends to serve

as volunteers – career mentors, businesses in game, PFL leaders

Introduce Laura Ewing and Lorraine Decker to people who care about PFL – it takes a community

Your Action Plan

http://economicstexas.orghttp://smartertexas.orghttp://GameofRealLife.org

Three Websites for resources

Laura Ewing - Laura@EconomicsTexas.orgwww.EconomicsTexas.org

Lorraine Decker - Lorraine@FinancialMentors.orgwww,GameofRealLife.org