Pub15-2020-2021-Issue5

WWW.NEBANKERS.ORG 8 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE N EBRASKA BANKING FRIENDS: N ebraska bankers all too often have a front-row seat when it comes to witnessing the finan - cial understanding, or lack thereof, of their fellow Nebraskans and customers. We know that poor financial decision making can lead to extreme personal and professional hardships. Acquir- ing a solid understanding of financial concepts is an important skill set that is learned starting at an early age, both at home and through our education sys- tems. While Nebraska has made strides in recent years to improve the financial education efforts within our school sys - tems, more needs to be done! In 2018, your NBA team, along with key bankers from across the state, worked with the Nebraska Department of Educa- tion and other interested stakeholders to modernize and enhance the state’s K-12 business curriculum standards. These standards outline the goals and expecta- tions for business classes taught by all Nebraska schools, including important classes such as economics and personal finance. Unfortunately, these business standards only apply to business classes, which are optional for our Nebraska students. In addition, these classes are typically limited to high school students. More recently, the NBA and banking leaders again worked proactively with the education community to enhance the state’s social studies educational stan- dards. These social studies standards incorporate the foundations of econom- ics and finance for kindergarten through Richard J. Baier, President and CEO, Nebraska Bankers Association Financial Education is Key 12th grade. Concepts contained in these standards represent only a portion of the overall content, which also incorpo- rates history, government, geography and politics. Likewise, the Nebraska social studies standards do not require a specific full credit class focused on economics or personal finance. Un - like Nebraska, five states plus the District of Columbia currently do not have any type of economics and finance requirements within their educational standards. Every two years, the National Council on Economic Education conducts the Survey of the States, which evaluates the Economic and Personal Finance Educa- tion in our Nation’s Schools. Nebraska scores in the middle of the pack in these national comparisons. Twenty-one states, for example, require high school students to take a personal finance class. Similarly, 25 states now require students to take an economics class to graduate. Enrollment in a specific personal finance and/or economics course is not required by Nebraska educational standards. (https://www.councilforeconed.org/ survey-of-the-states-2020/) To supplement and encourage enhanced financial education, NBA member banks of all sizes offer a wealth of resources, programs, online platforms and classroom presentations. A number of Nebraska banks, for example, partner with NBA preferred vendor EverFi to offer the firm’s online platform. Other NBA members have created and offer their own financial education platforms. Similarly, bankers from across the state annually make hundreds of classroom presentations with a focus on practical advice and real-world experience. The