Vol. 41, No. 29
April 11, 2007
CONTACT: JIM MORRIS |
Gov. Blunt Recognizes Savvy Students from Maysville and Harrisonville;
Proclaims Economic and Financial Literacy Month
Gov. Matt Blunt today issued a proclamation designating April as Youth Economic and Financial Literacy Month.
In a ceremony at the Capitol, the governor also formally recognized two teams of Missouri students who excelled in statewide finance-related competitions this year. Students from Maysville High School recently captured their third consecutive title in the Missouri “LifeSmarts” competition, and students from Harrisonville High School took first place in the Missouri Stock Market Game.
Representatives of the Missouri Jump$tart Coalition, the Missouri Council on Economic Education and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education were on hand for the ceremony. Each organization strives to prepare youth for lifelong successful financial decision-making.
Last year, Missouri seniors scored above the national average on a personal finance survey but only got 54 percent of the answers correct in an assessment conducted by the national Jump$tart Coalition.
A half-unit course in personal finance is one of the new requirements approved by the State Board of Education in 2005 when it raised the minimum number of credits needed to graduate from a public high school from 22 to 24 units. The new policy applies to this year’s freshman class – students who will graduate in 2010.