North Carolina Scores Financial Literacy Touchdown

A broad based financial education program is poised for a strong rollout in North Carolina, as the Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen and running back DeAngelo Williams partnered with the North Carolina’s Treasurer’s Office to launch a version of VISA’s Financial Football across the state’s schools.  Financial Football was developed through a collaboration between VISA and the National Football League.  The program includes an educational curriculum and video game that teaches students important financial concepts to empower them to best understand personal finance topics.

The Financial Football program has seen significant success in several U.S. states and many industry observers anticipate that this North Carolina program will be similarly successful.  The program in North Carolina will be distributed to every middle school and high school in the state, while also being available via the Internet and various mobile devices.  The multi-media approach is aimed at connecting with students through the media and communications channels that they’re already frequently using.

The introduction of Financial Football in North Carolina is just the latest of many targeted efforts by the state to improve the quality of financial education among students.  North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction and the North Carolina General Assembly have been committed in many ways, including developing a website designed to advance teacher knowledge and understanding of personal finances, elevate the number of high school students who are financially literate, and strengthen public awareness and parent knowledge of personal finances.  Many financial literacy proponents anticipate that this latest initiative will serve North Carolina students very well in terms of focusing them on the essential components and attributes of s financial literacy and capability.