PNC Bank Awards $48,000 to MSDE To Enhance Financial Literacy Education

[Howard Hartman]

For Immediate Release	April 15, 2011

PNC Bank Awards $48,000 to MSDE To
Enhance Financial Literacy Education

Grant Wills Support Professional Development for Teachers

BALTIMORE, MD (April 15, 2011) – The Maryland State Department of Education has received a $48,000 grant from PNC Bank to support financial literacy education in Maryland’s schools. Funds will be used to provide up to 160 teachers with full and partial scholarships to attend the August 2011 Family Economics and Financial Education (FEFE) East Coast National Training to be held at The Meeting House in Columbia.

Professional development on the FEFE curriculum has been offered in Maryland each year since August of 2008 and is extremely well received by teachers. In September of 2011, local school systems will be required to provide financial literacy instruction to students in grades 3-12 consistent with Maryland’s State Curriculum for Personal Financial Literacy Education.

The training sessions are aligned with Maryland’s Teacher Professional Development Standards in that the training is systemic and ongoing through a combination of in-person and webinar sessions. Teachers who attend are invited back to the summer training each year for a one-day follow-up session. In addition, Maryland has three outstanding FEFE master teachers who provide ongoing training and assist with the East Coast national conferences. They are from Carroll, Garrett, and Anne Arundel Counties.

“April is Financial Literacy Education month, and the timing of this announcement could not be better,” said State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick. “On behalf of teachers throughout the state, I would like to personally thank PNC Bank for its generous contribution toward our teachers’ professional development. These funds will help ensure that our teachers have the necessary knowledge and skills to teach the content. I am ecstatic that PNC Bank is joining with us to help build a delivery system of financial literacy education at the elementary, middle and high school levels.”

“PNC Bank is committed to providing financial literacy education and is pleased to partner with the Maryland State Department of Education to further invest in our children,” said Louis Cestello, PNC Bank’s Greater Maryland Regional President. “This effort will help area teachers to prepare our children for successful financial futures.”

FEFE offers one of the only finance curriculums which is designed, tested, and edited “by educators...for educators.” Today, FEFE provides more than 18,000 educators nationwide with free, ready-to-teach materials, curriculum training, newsletters, grants and other activities that expand their knowledge of family economics and enable teachers to incorporate money management related lessons into their classrooms.