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Area students have a new way to learn about managing money.
Oxford FCU typically schedules many in-classroom presentations throughout the school year—from elementary level lessons about what money is, how to earn it, and how to set savings goals—to Financial Fitness Fairs at high schools that teach students about budgeting through real-life scenarios and decision making.
Oxford FCU now is working with Banzai, a national award-winning financial literacy program, to make internet-based curriculum available to five schools in Oxford county completely free of charge.
“In the early summer, we realized that COVID-19 precautions and restrictions were going to severely limit our personal involvement with financial education in our area schools, so we looked at online opportunities that would enrich both in-class and remote learning,” said Lisa Marston, Marketing Director at Oxford FCU. “We decided to give Banzai a try and start small by sponsoring five schools.”
Banzai is an interactive program supplemented by printed workbooks that aligns with state curriculum requirements for personal finance education. It has become the largest program of its kind, servicing more than 60,000 teachers in all 50 states.
“One of the best parts of this program is that the lesson plans and supporting materials are all prepared and available, and they can be used by any teacher at any time in the schools we are sponsoring at no cost to them,” said Marston. “We definitely miss not being able to bring our own financial education presentations to the students, but we hope Banzai will be a great supplement to their learning.”
For the 2020-2021 school year, the following schools in Oxford county have access to the Banzai program through Oxford FCU’s sponsorship: Buckfield Junior-Senior High School, Dirigo High School and Middle School, and Mountain Valley High School and Middle School. Teachers interested in learning more can email marketing@ofcu.org.