Brunson-Dargan Financial Literacy – Faculty and staff from Brunson-Dargan Elementary School traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, recently to act as keynote speakers for an event hosted by the Vanguard Group. They discussed implementation of a financial literacy program at the school.
Faculty and staff from Brunson-Dargan Elementary School (BDE) recently represented the school in Charlotte, North Carolina, as keynote speakers at an event hosted by the Vanguard Group.
Principal Ada Sindab, along with teachers Regina Parker and Rebecca Watson, spoke about how BDE has implemented the Vanguard Group’s “My Classroom Economy” program to teach students financial literacy.
“My Classroom Economy is a program that enables any educator to teach children financial responsibility through fun, experiential learning,” the group’s website states. “It’s a simple classroom economic system based on the idea that students need to earn school ‘dollars’ so that they can rent their own desks. By bringing real-world scenarios into the classroom, students see the impact of their decisions to save, spend and budget.”
Brunson-Dargan’s Sindab, Parker and Watson shared how the school merged Vanguard’s “My Classroom Economy” program with the school’s already existing “Positive Behavior Incentive System.” In unison, the school is using the two programs to operate the “BDE Economy,” which aims to teach student personal financial management through life situations and student employment. In addition to a “salary,” students are given various opportunities to earn money throughout the school day. Just like in the real world, students have bills to pay and even the BDE equivalent to a speeding ticket.
Each student learns to manage his or her own money through an online bank account simulator. Each day, students are encouraged to earn enough money to pay their bills and pay admission to special school events.
