MASSACHUSETTS BANKERS ASSOCIATION AND FIVE BANKS TO HOST HIGH SCHOOL COMPETITION IN SUPPORT OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION PILOT PROGRAM

On Nov. 14, inside the Massachusetts Statehouse, the Massachusetts Bankers Association (MBA) and five partnering banks will host “Common Cents,” a financial education competition featuring high school students from around the state.
This innovative financial education quiz-show program, hosted by radio celebrity Ashley Feldman of JAM’N 94.5; New England Cable News (NECN) anchor Latoyia Edwards; and financial expert Jeffrey Fuhrer, executive vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, will also include a special guest appearance by Jermaine Wiggins, the former New England Patriot.
The event will feature 80 high school students from throughout the state including students from Wakefield High School and Lynnfield High School who were invited to attend by The Savings Bank. It will be videotaped and made available in the first quarter of next year to schools and teachers statewide as a teaching tool. The program will also be distributed to local cable access channels so the general public can benefit from viewing it. When it is launched, teachers, students and the public will be able to view the program at www.masscommoncents.com
This year’s “Common Cents” program is produced in support of the Financial Literacy Pilot Program established by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2012. This three-year pilot in 10 high schools is designed to test the potential viability of installing financial education programs in all Massachusetts high schools to give students the personal finance skills necessary to succeed in life.
“Young adults, whether they go on to college or not, often struggle with their finances,” said Daniel J. Forte, president of the MBA. “As a society we have to do a better job of educating our future consumers about finance.”
In partnership with Bank of America, BayCoast Bank, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, PeoplesBank, and The Savings Bank, the “Common Cents” quiz show provides an effective and engaging way for high school students to gain valuable financial knowledge.
“Providing critical financial education information in a fun quiz show format and playing for prizes is a good way to make our youth financially savvy adults,” said Forte. The ‘Common Cents’ financial education competition starts the process. There is a critical need. It’s hard to believe that currently there is not a mandated financial education curriculum in Massachusetts’ high schools. That’s why we support the Financial Literacy Pilot Program and hope it leads to a statewide mandate, an idea also supported by the five ‘Common Cents’ sponsors, Bank of America, BayCoast Bank, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank, PeoplesBank, and The Savings Bank, who are all leaders in financial education.”
The Massachusetts Bankers Association represents approximately 170 commercial, savings and co-operative banks and savings and loan institutions in Massachusetts and elsewhere in New England.