Treasurer’s Office
State Treasurer Ken Miller today announced an initiative to bring an innovative, web-based financial education program to every high school student across the state through a partnership with education technology leader EverFi. The Treasurer’s office will partner with local businesses and financial institutions to bring this program to local students at no cost to schools or taxpayers.
“We are committed to improving the economic well-being of our state, and this starts with empowering young people to understand how the economy works and how to achieve financial security in their own lives,” said Treasurer Miller. “EverFi is the leader in providing web-based financial education to consumers and students nationwide, and we are proud to bring their cutting-edge curriculum to students across Oklahoma in partnership with local businesses.”
A FINRA-funded study released in February 2015 found that students who received rigorous financial education in high school saw increased credit scores and decreased chance of credit delinquency as young adults, compared to their peers who did not receive financial education. The study went on to say that these positive outcomes are most pronounced when rigorous financial education is mandated in a school setting.The EverFi curriculum is implemented on a co-curricular basis, providing teachers with a valuable tool to use with students in a classroom setting.
“Treasurer Miller is a true leader in financial education and we’re honored to be working alongside him,” said EverFi Founder and CEO Tom Davidson. “Public-private partnerships like these are key to bringing innovative learning opportunities to students at no cost to the school system. As a native Oklahoman, I’m proud that EverFi will join a growing number of local partners to impact students across my home state.”
The web-based program uses the latest in new media technology – simulations, gaming and adaptive-pathing – to bring complex financial concepts to life for today’s digital generation. EverFi’s high school course offers over six hours of programming with ten units in a variety of financial topics including credit scores, insurance, credit cards, student loans, mortgages, taxes, stocks, savings, 401k’s and other critical concepts that map to national financial literacy standards.
EverFi’s activation team will manage all school integration, teacher training and professional development to bring this course statewide. More than 50,000 teachers across the U.S. have used this innovative curriculum in their classrooms.
Backed by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Twitter founder Evan Williams, and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, EverFi is focused on teaching, assessing, and certifying K-12 and college students in the critical skills they need for life. Current partners providing EverFi’s financial literacy curriculum in Oklahoma are Bank of Oklahoma, American National Bank, First Bethany Bank & Trust, First United Bank, ONB Bank, Republic Bank & Trust, Vision Bank and F&M Bank of Guthrie.
If you are a member of the Oklahoma business or financial institution community seeking to bring critical financial education resources to local schools, please contact Jeff Ringer, Director of Constituent Engagement, Office of Oklahoma State Treasurer Ken Miller at 405-521-4512 or jeff.ringer@treasurer.ok.gov, or Beth Carroll, Senior Vice President of National Partnerships at EverFi at 678-640-1617 or beth@everfi.com.
