May Newsletter Blog Posts
Financially Fit Partnerships
If you’re anything like the general public, you may feel a bit apprehensive about taking a hard look at your finances or encouraging your students to do the same. But instilling healthy financial habits in young people doesn’t have to feel intimidating, especially if you have some help along the way. You know that saying, “teamwork makes the dream work”? Sometimes, you just need a little reminder that you don’t need to move mountains in order to make valuable partnerships to aid in bringing financial literacy to students and families. Read on for some ideas to get the ball rolling!
Host a Reality Fair
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has a great starting point in its Youth Banking Resource Center, which includes a guide to organizing reality fairs. Each year, banks lead Reality Fairs in partnership with youth-serving organizations and schools. These fairs act as a simulation of an adult’s financial life and show students what it’s like to engage a financial institution, decide how to use money, get a loan, manage debt, and more. Participants are given profiles that include a profession, monthly earnings, and other financial details. Consider getting in touch with a local bank and asking if they can help plan, contribute resources, or provide staff support. Don’t be afraid to ask other local financial organizations if they can help, too — the more, the merrier!
Pair Students with Money Mentors
The Actuarial Foundation’s Money Mentors is a program that empowers students to make informed decisions about their resources, time, and energy. Their mentors focus on the basics of tracking and strategizing resources as students become stronger in their financial literacy. Students can get free virtual tutoring, and educators can fill out a Readiness Assessment Form to implement a program in their organization. If you’re not yet ready to partner with the Actuarial Foundation’s Money Mentors, you can still implement its model by asking local partners to serve as “money mentors” to your students. Accountants, bankers, business owners, advisors — they’d all jump at the opportunity. Whether your mentor meetings are virtual or in person, the value of students learning from real-world experiences is worth a million bucks.
Before You Go
Junior Achievement USA is a nonprofit that engages volunteers from all walks of life to help young people develop work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy in school classrooms and afterschool locations. They offer free online courses on topics like business planning, car ownership, and more. You can sample the courses for ideas and activities. If you or your school-day partners offer a Junior Achievement (JA) program, get families involved by hosting an open house where students share their project and what they’ve learned through their JA Programs.
You already know that students learn best when they’re engaged, so now’s the time to get your community engaged in strengthening students’ relationship with financial literacy. The more confident they feel in their financial readiness, the more powerful they’ll feel when encountering life’s more challenging and unexpected moments, and that’s priceless!
To Do or Not To Do
A graphic illustration of a stressed woman at her desk. She has her hands on her head in frustration, and there are flames shown coming from her head. There are arms all around her, holding documents, and calculators.
You may want to "do it all," but sometimes there are more ideas and activities than you have time or staff to implement. You may have to say no to one initiative to free up time and resources for another. Or, you may recognize a need to try something new to get the results you want. A tool in our Becoming a Leader Toolkit can help you be strategic and make well-informed decisions.
The truth is, not every initiative will be a good fit for your program or the best use of limited resources. Experts say that successful implementation of a program or practice must take six factors into account. To help program leaders like you consider those factors, The National Implementation Research Network developed The Hexagon Tool based on implementation science. The tool guides you through the process of asking six important questions before you say yes or no to the next Big Idea:
- Need: What need in the community would your program would like to address?
- Fit: How well would this initiative fit in your existing program and community?
- Capacity: What kind of capacity do you have to implement the initiative?
- Evidence: How strong is the evidence that it can improve outcomes for students and families?
- Usability: How well can this initiative be used in a real-world setting?
- Supports: What kinds of resources and supports are available for implementation?
To see how The Hexagon Tool can help you choose wisely, download the Becoming a Leader Toolkit and take a look at Saying Yes or No to a New Initiative: A Decision Tool for Leaders. This isn’t a one-person show, either! It’s important to rope in your staff so you and your team can arrive at an informed decision. This is the perfect opportunity to assign facilitators and do some outreach. Remember, you don’t need to do it all to make a great impact on your students and families.
Your Summer Program Planning Checklist
If you’re like most people, it probably feels like you were wrapped up in school-year craziness, then you looked up one day and BAM! Summer’s nearly here. If you still have to-do’s on your summer program planning checklist, don’t panic. Take a deep breath, and let’s do a quick rundown of the checklist together. Check off the steps you’ve completed, and pat yourself on the back. Note the steps that still need work. Ready? Here goes:
Step 1: Brainstorm and build a program team.
Your program team refers to on-site team members and people from the school and community who help you set the direction of the summer program, connect the program with needed resources, market the program to students and families, and help build support for the program.
Step 2: Conduct a needs assessment and do asset mapping.
Here, you’ll examine school-level data, student-level data, and student voice data to identify needs. Then you’ll map assets within and beyond your community to find resources to help you meet those needs.
Step 3: Develop SMART goals that match your needs assessment.
Ah, our old friend, the SMART goal — specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. SMART goals for your summer program provide a North Star to guide planning, implementation, and assessment.
Step 4: Plan logistics.
Now it’s time to plan operations, space usage, a budget, a staffing plan, and a schedule. Think about capital expenses, general supplies, and staff benefits.
Step 5: Intentionally design activities.
Design activities that align with your program SMART goals and meet the needs of your targeted students.
Step 6: Recruit intentionally.
Market your summer learning program to make sure the students who can benefit most will attend. Consider social media, preview nights, and contacts with school-day staff. Also, encourage students to invite their friends. Once you’ve nailed down your strategies and any associated costs, assign tasks and put your plan in motion.
Step 7: Create a logic model.
Create a diagram that shows the relationship between specific inputs (resources), outputs (activities), desired outcomes (results), and the program’s overall goal aim or goal.
Step 8: Ensure continuous improvement.
Measure success, reflect on what did and didn’t work well, celebrate your victories, and plan for the future.
There’s a Tool for That!
If this year’s summer planning feels rushed, remember this for next time: Our Summer Learning Implementation Planner has tools for each step of the process, complete with a sample planner, templates, and ideas to get the ball rolling. Download the zip file to access the template, sample, and a step-by-step user guide. Next year, start early, and be sure to involve your staff every step of the way.
Tip: Chances are, many people and organizations in your community would jump at the chance to help make this summer unforgettable for your students. Brainstorm, network, revisit the assets you mapped in Step 2, and reach out for help if you need it.
