Invest in your future is a unique Newspaper in Education collaboration that involves a variety of co

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• Invest in your future is a unique Newspaper
  in Education collaboration that involves a
  variety of community partners to tackle family
  and community financial literacy using the Friday
  Erie Times-News. The program encompasses learning
  through active involvement and reading at school
  and reinforcement at home and in the community.
  Each week 6,220 students in 72 schools receive
  the Friday newspapers.

205 W. 12th Street Erie, PA 15634 USA Daily
55,128 Sunday 76,378
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The weekly Friday Feature in the Erie Times-News
provides tools to help parents and educators
teach children about sound money management and
to establish good money habits at home. NCEE
materials are used for creating the feature.
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Each week on Friday, an Invest in your future
half page feature is published in the Erie
Times-News. NCEE and JA materials are used to
create the weekly feature. It involves readers in
the basics of financial literacy including but
not limited to the following topics creating
budgets, savings accounts, balancing checking
accounts and understanding loans, credit cards,
payday lending, rent to own and of course,
interest rates. An NIE teachers guide, content
and activities meet Pennsylvanias educational
standards.
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Information on different topics each week help
students understand how to avoid financial
problems and teach them what they need to be
financially literate.
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Weekly activity an easy way for teachers to
reinforce learning by actively involving students
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This space is for sharing what students have to
say. But it is also used to share other
information about the program and volunteers in
the classroom.

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The Center for Credit and Consumer Research at
Penn State Behrend supplies weekly quiz questions
for the feature. The questions are designed to
see what students recall from the weekly feature.
Answers are sent with the questions to the
participating teachers so they have the correct
information for discussion.
? Readers are also
encouraged to go online for the answer and to
play the game to practice for the live game show.
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Weekly newspaper activities
The newspaper is a remarkable textbook and weekly
newspaper activities help students make
connections to real life issues and reinforce the
financial literacy topics covered each week.
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The weekly NIE feature asks for volunteers to
participate in this important program. Many
community leaders and citizens read the feature
each week.
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Project partners are recognized each week on the
feature

• Support of this programming provides partners
  with an opportunity to be acknowledged on the
  weekly feature and in various marketing tools and
  appropriate collateral as a corporate sponsor.
  Partners are also recognized in Junior
  Achievement of Erie Countys website material,
  newsletter articles, board meeting announcements,
  press releases and brochures. The clear alignment
  between participating organizations missions
  makes this partnership a powerful and mutually
  beneficial one.
• Sponsorship of this program demonstrates a
  commitment to the financial education of Erie
  County Youth.
• The mission of the sponsors of these programs is
  closely aligned. All partners
• promote economic empowerment
• seek to improve the lives of young people.
• believe strongly in the value of volunteerism.

• This joint venture provides readers with
  information and activities to create the
  necessary habits to avoid financial problems from
  September 2007 to June of 2008. Erie Times-NIE
  has a proven track record actively involving area
  students and readers, and this excellent
  opportunity continues to make a difference
  concerning this issue.

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Partners for the 2007-2008 school year

• JA of Erie County
• Penn State Behrend, Sam and Irene Black School of
  Business, Center for Credit and Consumer Research
• Erie Federal Credit Union
• United Way of Erie County

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Primary Goals

• This program addresses two interrelated goals
  financial literacy and asset building. However
  literacy is an important ingredient in financial
  success. The goals of any Erie Times-NIE program
  are
• Develop and grow the next generation of newspaper
  readers
• Encourage life-long daily reading habits
  utilizing the entire newspaper as an educational
  tool
• Create informed, educated and actively involved
  citizens
• Promote social and cultural awareness as well as
  civic responsibility and involvement
• Provide educational materials in the daily
  newspaper, curriculum supplements and training
  for teachers, parents and others working with
  young people to meet Pennsylvania educational
  requirements and improve student performance,
  literacy and love of reading

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Additional Goals

• The work we are doing has never been more
  important. At a time when demand for our
  extremely effective programs has never been
  higher this strong partnership and exceptional
  program will
• Implement outstanding economics education
  programs in our community
• Teach students critical thinking skills that can
  be used in all aspects of life, but particularly
  in the workplace and when making financial
  decisions about using credit and saving for the
  future
• Increase the number of Erie County citizens who
  receive EITC tax credit refunds
• Expand the number of students and families whose
  lives are positively influenced through
  participation in this financial literacy
  initiative
• Give students a real-world frame of reference
  for economic principles
• Instill a hope for the future in each child
• Educate and inspire our young people to value
  free enterprise, business and economics in order
  to improve the quality of their lives

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Needs

• The 2000 Census figures indicate that more than
  32,000 people in Erie County live below the
  poverty threshold. In the city of Erie the
  poverty rate is 18.8 percent.
• Although we do not have clients we service
  students and reach families by providing
  important education to help them and their
  families make better choices at home, at school
  and in their communities. Many of the students we
  serve live in poverty with the majority of those
  we serve living in the inner city or outlying
  rural areas. Without education and opportunities
  to form good habits they will be destined to
  remain in poverty for their entire life.
• Habits learned early are critical to success.

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Original Curriculum

• Pilot program - 13 weekly features started on
  March 2, 2006
• 33 weekly features started on September 21, 2007
  See entries included with this entry.

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SAVE UP! The verb save up has one meaning
feather one's nest have a nest eggSynonyms
save, lay aside Our goal includes a special
emphasis on the importance of savings accounts.
We have enhanced Invest in your future with a
special pilot at three middle schools in Erie
County two city schools and one private school
in a program called SAVE UP! Since habits are
formed early in life, we purpose that to start a
savings habit you cant wait until you finish
school. This program gives students an
opportunity to start a savings account. They
learn the value of having a savings account but
they will also understand that they are members
in an important community asset the credit
union. The Erie Federal Credit Union will provide
5.00 coupons to start the account. One hundred
participating students at the designated middle
schools will be encouraged to save and deposit
into their account an additional 45 or more by
May 1, 2008. Students who make their goal will
receive an additional 10 in their savings
account upon verification. Throughout the school
year we will have added incentives to encourage
students to exceed the 45 dollar goal set for
their savings portion by the program.
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Many of my students have limited access to the
newspaper at home, so I feel it is an extremely
valuable tool to help them stay abreast of
current issues and news events. The Invest in
Your Future pages are very interesting to the
students. We have discussed budgeting,
transportation expenses, credit cards, taxes,
basic needs and luxuries. These are relevant
lessons for the young people who will be making
important financial decisions in the near
future. - Colleen Thomas Teacher,
Erie School District
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This is a great way to get kids to read!  It
gives them life skills (finding a job, want adds,
obituaries, money skills...)  In some cases this
is the only way my students get to utilize a
newspaper.  Many don't understand the vast
information it carries until we really get into
it. - Amy Vandemerwe, Teacher Harborcreek HS
Students were able to see real world problems
(not textbook) and come up with plans on how they
will answer these problems. Money and how to deal
with it the proper way were the most popular
class lessons. - Chris Keiser, East High School
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Please thank the sponsors for providing
newspapers to the Transition High School. There
is a lot I enjoy about the wonderful newspapers
including the Invest In Your Future Feature. It
was great learning about how to budget for food,
utilities, vehicles and also clothes. I enjoy
reading the paper to find out all kinds of
information and love the sports section and
reading about the city. - Justin Rowry
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Im in the 9th grade at Transition High School.
Although I really dont like to read, I LOVE to
read the newspaper. Thank you for sponsoring our
Friday newspapers. Im learning a lot about
budgeting and learning how to save and spend
money. - Angela Lawson