Maine JumpStart

Maine Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy

Maine Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy

Working collaboratively to improve financial capability in Maine

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News & Updates

Maine Jump$tart Fall Newsletter

September 2019

The 2019 Summer Training participants, ready to see the Sea Dogs!

Greetings from Maine Jump$tart,

We hope that your school year is off to a fantastic start! It’s been a busy summer at Maine Jump$tart and we have some exciting financial education updates to share with you:

  • SAVE THE DATE for the 11th Annual Fostering Financial Education in Maine Schools Conference on May 7th and 8th, 2020 . This year’s conference will be held in Augusta. We will continue to offer registration fee waivers and substitute teacher reimbursement to educators in need of financial support. Materials from the 2019 conference are available on the conference page.
  • DID YOU KNOW that the Maine Learning Results for Social Studies were revised in 2019? Though personal finance and economics were previously included in the standards, the recent revision strengthened and emphasized the personal finance requirements. Looking for resources? Check out the Maine DOE Social Studies Standards page for Personal Finance & Economics, and the Maine Financial Literacy Framework & Resource Guide, created in partnership by Maine Jump$tart and the Maine DOE. Maine DOE also maintains a web page devoted to resources and organizations that support the teaching of financial literacy.
  • We are pleased to announce the winners of the Maine Jump$tart Coalition Educator of the Year Award. The 2019-2020 honorees are Raelene Allen and Samantha Drost. This is the first time in the history of the award that two recipients have been recognized! Ms. Allen of Madison High School and Ms. Drost of Central Aroostook High School both serve on The Maine Jump$tart Coalition Board of Directors, and work diligently to improve financial capability among their students and provide resources for fellow teachers in Maine. They will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the National Jump$tart Educator Conference in Washington, D.C. this November. In addition, they will also each receive a $500 financial education grant from Machias Savings Bank. Read more about Ms. Allen and Ms. Drost.
  • Next Gen Personal Finance recently announced the Gold Standard Challenge: 100 public high schools will each receive $10,000 grants when they successfully adopt personal finance graduation requirements. The proposal submission deadline is November 1, 2019. Click here to find more details, eligibility requirements, and how to apply!
  • Maine Jump$tart is proud to be a part of the 26th season of LifeSmarts, a program designed to help high school students sharpen their knowledge of personal finance, consumer rights, and other life skills. Check out this LifeSmarts video to learn more. Here’s what you need to know about the Maine LifeSmarts competition:
    • Online competition between Maine high school teams takes place through the fall and early winter and culminates with a state competition on the Unum corporate campus in Portland.
    • Maine’s winning team will receive an all-expenses paid trip to compete in the national finals in Washington, D.C on April 25-28, 2020.
    • For more information about LifeSmarts, visit Lifesmarts.org, or contact Debra Kantor, Maine State LifeSmarts Coordinator at (207) 474-9622, or at debra.kantor@maine.edu.
  • The third installment of our summer teacher training series, Money in 2019 and Beyond: What Should We Be Teaching Our Students?, was a huge success! Maine Jump$tart was excited to welcome thirty educators from around Maine to this three day intensive conference. This unique professional development opportunity offered Maine teachers a chance to discover new financial education resources, build customized curricula, and attend speaker presentations by professionals throughout the financial technology world. Visit the Summer Trainings page to access the speaker presentations from the workshop and financial technology lesson plans created by the participants. We are looking forward to next summer’s workshops, stay tuned for dates!
  • We want to remind you to visit our website, which offers a number of resources, including a Maine Financial Education Clearinghouse, the premier online library of Maine-based financial education resources. Check out our website today!
  • Maine Jump$tart is happy to welcome the support of Emma Miller, FAME’s newest AmeriCorps VISTA member, serving through the Goodwill VISTA Partnership. Emma will work to strengthen and support Maine Jump$tart’s statewide financial education goals, specifically focusing on marketing and social media efforts. Originally from Minnesota, Emma is excited to be spending the year in Maine, and eager to get to the ocean as much as possible. She enjoys trail running, yoga, and traveling.

We’d love to hear from you! Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions about any of these initiatives. We are also interested in hearing about any programs or resources that you are using to promote financial education in your class or school.

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The Maine Jump$tart Coalition Board of Directors