The 4 Rs Expanding Your Horizons 2014

1. The 4 RsExpanding Your Horizons 2014 Texas Council on Economic Education Financial Mentors of America Laura Ewing - Laura@EconomicsTexas.org www.EconomicsTexas.org Lorraine Decker - Lorraine@FinancialMentors.org www,GameofRealLife.org

2. Step into Your Child’s or Student’s Future What do you want for your teens?

3. Happy • A career they love • Nice standard of living - Self-sufficient • Excellent health • Giving back to the community - Making a difference Traditionally, 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.

4. 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

5. 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? Four Rs Reading,‘Riting,‘Rithmetic & Rate of Return

6. HB 5 - Career & Academic Paths • 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 17 Base

7. Career & Academic Paths • Endorsements (4 Credits) • Advanced Math or CTE Math – 1 credit • Advanced Science or CTE Science – 1 credit • Electives – 2 credits

8. What should you expect? • Goal – Post-secondary education is important for being self-sufficient and obtaining an occupation paying $35,000 or more. • Goal – Graduate from HS “career and college ready” 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.

9. What should you expect? 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.

10. What should you expect? • 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.

11. What should you expect? • 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 opportunities • 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).

12. 8th GRADE & Model HS PlanMiddle School Math PFL TEKSby Texas Council of Economic EducationandConnect the Dotsby Financial Mentors of America

13. Middle School Math PFL TEKS • 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 all grades

14. Connect the Dots • 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

15. Your Action Plan • 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

16. Three Websites for resources • http://economicstexas.org • http://smartertexas.org • http://GameofRealLife.org Laura Ewing - Laura@EconomicsTexas.org www.EconomicsTexas.org Lorraine Decker - Lorraine@FinancialMentors.org www,GameofRealLife.org