Jump$tart Financial Foundations for Educators
Our teacher training initiative is a collaborative endeavor designed to standardize teacher training in personal finance using a shared model called Jump$tart Financial Foundations for Educators® (J$FFE). J$FFE, which was designed to ensure consistency and rigor in national teacher training programs, is administered by the Jump$tart Coalition on behalf of its partners and affiliates.
The Jump$tart Financial Foundations for Educators Model:
• Is licensed, at no cost, to qualified users.
• Helps local organizations conduct professional development programs for teachers in their area.
• Focuses on teachers as learners and as consumers.
• Complements many existing teacher training programs and conferences.
• Is suitable for teachers at any grade level, regardless of the subject into which the teacher incorporates financial education.
• Promotes both consistency and customization.
Supported by Research
• A 2009 study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison illuminated the need for more and better teacher training in personal finance concepts.
• Research conducted on Jump$tart Financial Foundations for Educators pilot programs shows evidence of the Model’s effectiveness. Teachers who participated in pilot programs in five locations increased their knowledge, retained their knowledge after six months, made positive changes in their personal financial behaviors, and integrated what they had learned into their teaching.
• Ongoing research, administered by National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) on behalf of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, will compile effectiveness statistics from all users of the Model.
About Our Model Founding Developers
The Jump$tart Financial Foundations for Educators model (J$FFE) is a collaborative endeavor initially proposed by Jump$tart board member Ted Beck, president and CEO, of the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) and undertaken by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy on behalf of its partners, in response to independent and widely quoted research, conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which found that relatively few personal finance teachers felt adequately prepared to teach the subject or use their state’s standards.
The five founding developers of the Jump$tart Financial Foundations for Educators ( Council for Economic Education, Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, Junior Achievement USA, National Endowment for Financial Education, and the Take Charge America Institute at the University of Arizona) developed the model with valuable insight from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Department of Education. The five non-profit organizations now serve as the J$TTA national advisory committee and support the Model, jointly, as the standard in personal finance teacher training.
For more information about the Jump$tart Financial Foundations for Educators Model, please contact us.