Eastern Kentucky University’s Center for Economic Education, Central Bank, the Kentucky Council on Economic Education and Madison County Schools are joining forces to help local elementary school students learn how to make wise financial decisions as they grow into adulthood.

The partnership will enable personal finance curriculum training for K-5 teachers throughout the Madison County School District, beginning this fall. The lessons will be integrated into mathematics and social studies content areas so students will learn real-life applications of the subjects.

“There can be no disconnect between economic education we offer today and the promise for our students tomorrow,” said Madison County Schools Superintendent Tommy Floyd. “We have an obligation to work even harder today to bring the kind of relevance that economic education can bring to the classroom.

“There are countless examples of lessons where our teachers bring real-life situations to their students. Only through the many partnerships with our community organizations and businesses can we deliver these opportunities to our students. Their ‘grade 13’ will definitely include knowledge of financial stewardship. It will take all of us working together to make this possible.”

Dr. Cynthia Harter, director of EKU’s Center for Economic Education, will coordinate the professional development, and Central Bank and Madison County Schools Title I Program will provide resources and funding. Teachers from each grade will meet at Kirksville Elementary School on different days during the fall semester for the training. Lessons will be tied to required state content, and teachers will leave the workshops prepared to teach the lessons in their classrooms.

Jeff Fultz, president of Central Bank in Madison County, said the bank has “been looking for partnerships that would make a positive impact in Madison County” since it opened its downtown facility in late 2007.

“We think this partnership is special because it offers a financial literacy curriculum for young kids,” Fultz said. “In other words, if we can reach them early in life and teach good financial habits and decision making, the kids have a much better chance of making better financial decisions as an adult. Most kids don’t understand why so many people are losing their homes. They don’t know what a mortgage is or why making payments on time is important. They may not know how to determine if something is affordable. Hopefully, the program will help them understand a few of the concepts. Education is the key to better decisions.”

Jan Mester, president of the Kentucky Council on Economic Education, said Kentucky’s young people “will face unprecedented economic opportunities and challenges in the coming years. They will be ready if they understand how to make a living, make spending choices, save for long-term goals, use credit wisely and build financial assets. There has never been a more opportune time for KCEE and our Centers for Economic Education to make the case for … economic and financial education.”

“We hope this is the first of many such partnerships,” Harter said.

Photo: From left, Dr. Cynthia Harter, director of EKU's Center for Economic Education; Jan Mester, president of the Kentucky Council on Economic Education; and Jeff Fultz, president of Central Bank in Madison County.