Idaho students will be getting some financial fitness through a $3.2 million Bank of America Grant.

It´s hoped that as many as 25,000
Idaho students will become better
consumers and investors under a
financial education curriculum
championed by Bank of America and the non-profit National Council on
Economic Education.

By The Associated Press Idaho Statesman

Financial Fitness for Life addresses students from kindergarten
through high school. It will be handled by the Idaho Council on
Economic Education. Teacher workshops are being held across the
state, and 120 educators have been trained to date.

A recent National Council survey found less than half of high school
students understood the concepts of profit, inflation and the federal
deficit.

The project is underwritten by a $3.2 million Bank of America
Foundation grant.

"When we look back 10 or 20 years from now, we will find that the
legacy of this curriculum is a nation of more knowledgeable consumers,
more prudent savers and investors, more productive members of the
work force and more informed voters on issues critical to our
communities," said Jack Rucker, chair of the Idaho Council on
Economic Education.

The curriculum includes four student workbooks, teacher texts and
parental guides. A Spanish language version is now in development.

Kindergarten students can learn about managing money and making
financial decisions from simple family activities such as grocery
shopping.

A fourth-grader considers how to pay monthly bills. A seventh-grader
helps select the family´s next car through an uncomplicated cost-benefit
analysis. High school seniors can develop budgets to help them make
the transition to adulthood.

Founded in 1970, the Idaho Council on Economic Education is a private
non-profit educational organization whose mission is to promote and to
improve economic education in Idaho´s K-12 schools. On a national
level, ICEE is affiliated with the National Council on Economic
Education, its 48 state councils, and 300 university-based Centers for
Economic Education.

The National Council administers programs that reach more than seven
million U.S. students each year, as well as 1.2 million in other countries.

For more information, see the ICEE´s Web site at
http://csi.boisestate.edu/icee/

http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/daily/20020302/LocalNews/233718.shtml