F&M Bank Reaches 4,689 Students through Online Financial Education Program
Over 1,884 students reached during the 2015-2016 school year
Timberville, VA – August 8, 2016 – In the 2015-2016 academic year, nearly a dozen Virginia high schools implemented the “My Money, My Future” program, a free-to-students, digital financial literacy module. F&M Bank has partnered with leading education technology company EverFi, Inc., to bring this interactive, web-based financial management program to over 4,689 students since the program’s inception in 2011.
“F&M Bank is proud to have empowered so many students with the essential skills needed to make sound financial decisions. It’s a testament to our investment in the Shenandoah Valley,” Anita Beckman, Senior Vice President at F&M Bank said. “It is crucial that our younger generation understand important aspects of personal finance like the difference between wants and needs and how to make a budget, and this course is providing them with the knowledge needed to successfully navigate the increasingly complex financial world we live in.”
The students, reached through 11 local schools, completed 11,958 individual modules of learning during the 2015-16 school year. Students’ understanding of key financial topics rose by an average 69% based on pre- and post-assessment scores. Among the valuable topics covered were saving, banking, investing, renting versus owning, credit scores, taxes and insurance, and consumer fraud.
According to recent EverFi survey data, 87% of parents talk to their kids about money but only 43% of parents describe themselves as “well prepared” to teach their kids about money, and many do not discuss more complex concepts like credit, financing higher education, or building wealth, focusing instead on values and rules-of-thumb like saving, managing spending, and avoiding debt. These statistics support the need for financial education in a school setting, where all students have an equal opportunity to learn essential financial skills. My Money, My Future is implemented in a co-curricular basis, providing students with the opportunity to develop healthy financial attitudes and behaviors in a classroom setting.
F&M Bank’s partnership with EverFi, Inc. brings the program to local students at no cost to the schools or the taxpayer. My Money, My Future is an eight-hour web-based program, which uses the latest in new media technology to bring complex financial concepts to life for today’s digital generation. The platform uniquely tracks the progress and performance of every student and provides students who successfully complete the course with certification in financial literacy, a valuable mark of distinction on college applications and resumes.
Students at Central HS pose with their certificates before celebrating with a pizza party.
“Helping students and adults develop a foundation of financial understanding and capability is absolutely critical,” said EverFi Founder and CEO Tom Davidson. We are grateful for our partnership with F&M Bank who is tackling this issue head on and taking positive steps to prepare young people with the critical financial management skills needed to be savvy, responsible consumers.”
About EverFi
EverFi, Inc. is the leading education technology company focused on teaching, assessing, and certifying K-12 and college students in the critical skills they need for life. The company teams with major corporations and foundations to provide the programs at no cost to K-12 schools. Some of America’s leading CEOs and venture capital firms are EverFi investors including Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Twitter founder Evan Williams, Rethink Education, New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA), and Tomorrow Ventures (the investment arm of Google Chairman Eric Schmidt). Learn more at www.everfi.com.
