There are many possibilities for students’ life after high school and lots of questions to consider along the way.  “What path is right for me?” “What do I stand to gain?” “What are my funding options for school?”

We have been developing Invest in What’s Next (IIWN), an interactive, online mini-course with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Through three lessons, students will explore their options, budget for their future, and build a plan that’s right for them.

We are happy to announce that lesson 1 has been launched and is ready for you to assign to your students!  After completing lesson 1, students will be able to:

• determine what jobs best fit their personal interests and the education required for those jobs
• estimate what they want their future lifestyle to be and the income they may need to earn to support that lifestyle
• identify the benefits of education after high school
• assess the degree levels and school options for education after high school
• research education options that meet their goals
• analyze charts and data in a variety of formats

The course is both structured and interactive.  Lesson 1 provides students with the guidance to identify their future lifestyle expectations, then investigate the educational and career choices that will steer them towards reaching their goals.

The lesson also helps students to factor in taxes and savings, in order to provide a complete picture of the income they will need to support their future goals.

Next, students explore the relationship between educational attainment and levels of unemployment through an interactive visual.  Students are also introduced to the concept of human capital by analyzing data sets depicting jobs, education level, and entry-level pay.

IIWN then overlays the student’s lifestyle costs with their field of interest, showing them examples of the kind of jobs that would satisfy both their lifestyle hopes and personal interests, and what level of education is required to land those jobs.

Once students have learned about the benefits of education, the course takes a closer look at some of the different education levels: certificate, associate’s degree, and bachelor’s degree. These are some of the most common education options after high school.

For each education level, students will find a description, some facts, possible jobs, and areas of study.  For a deeper dive, each listed job is linked to a detailed profile available for exploration in the Bureau of Labor and Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Students are guided down education paths from a drop-down menu to see the institution types that offer particular awards or degrees. The orange check marks that appear below represent the institution types that commonly award the selected certificate or degree. The gray check marks represent institution types that are less common. Students can click on the check marks to find out more about each type so they can compare the options. The listed schools are linked to full profiles on the National Center for Education Statistics College Navigator site.

Students will research at least two schools that interest them, and complete an online worksheet that outlines the schools’ costs and funding options.

3-question ‘knowledge checks’ are interspersed throughout the lesson to ensure that students are comprehending and retaining the lesson’s content. Answers and scores for the knowledge checks are recorded in each student’s account and can be reviewed at a later time.

Lesson 1 concludes with a personalized homework assignment that asks students to consider sources of money that may be available to help pay for their education – for example: family contributions, personal savings and work income.

Throughout the lesson, each student’s dashboard keeps track of progress and completed research, for reference throughout the rest of the mini course.

Let us know how you and your students respond to the course!  Lessons 2 and 3 are under development, to be released soon.

17 of our 22 EAG 2015 members

The group includes five community college and seventeen high school educators from both public and private schools with 1 to 24 years of experience teaching economics (of course!), government, business, marketing, and mathematics.  There is representation from nearly all states in the 12th District.

Early last month, the EAG kicked off their work by attending a professional development conference at our Head Office in San Francisco.  The conference agenda included an in-depth discussion on the purposes and functions of the Fed, an economic outlook from Senior Outreach Economist Liz Laderman, and a tour of cash operations, the Fed Center, and our American Currency Exhibit.

The group also dove into economic education content with a feedback and brainstorming session around our soon-to-be-launched Chair the Fed game on monetary policy (currently known as The Fed Chairman Game).

All that serious learning and hard work was capped off with a lively networking reception so that everyone could get to know their fellow EAG members and the SF Fed Econ Ed staff!

As a little preview of coming attractions, the EAG work for the rest of the year is divided into 4 categories: ‘Participate,’ ‘Evaluate,’ ‘Network,’ and ‘Present.’ Highlights include monthly discussions forums, quarterly virtual meetings, networking at local conferences relevant to economic education, presenting to non-EAG colleagues about SF Fed educational resources, and coordinating feedback focus groups with students.

EAG 2015 during their visit to SF Head Office last month

Our 2014 group provided us with lots of inspiration, data, and ideas around economic education (see some teacher spotlights here).  They’ve left some big shoes to fill but we know that the 2015 EAG is up to the task!

We’re clearly excited to have the EAG on board, and we’re happy to see that the feeling is mutual.  Some comments:

One way to truly grow professionally is to collaborate with other educators in your field. Exchanging ideas and field-testing new curriculum encourages innovation in instruction.  When my students and I are both excited about economics, that’s a win-win! – Molly Christensen, California School for the Deaf (Fremont, CA)

There have been innovations in Federal Reserve policy since the Great Recession for which there are not very many good pedagogical resources.  I want to help bridge the gap between the complex reality of monetary policy and the explanations offered to students in most textbooks. – Rhonda Collier, Portland Community College (Portland, OR)

As the only teacher at my site with an economics background, I am excited about working with the EAG to get new perspectives on economics instruction.  The EAG’s dialog with a professional network and access to high quality resources are a recipe for inspiring curriculum developing that will translate to increased learning for my students. – Laura Drehs, South High School (Torrance, CA)

The EAG will help me serve as a leader in my department and my school as we look to train new economics teachers in the upcoming year. – Kelly Guffey, Brophy College Preparatory (Phoenix, AZ)

Economics is exciting because of how practical and useful it is to students.  Money, banking, interest, and debts are all real work concepts people deal with in their daily lives.  The concepts and skills taught in economics are not only useful but current to the local and national economy. – Eddie Gonzales, San Bernardino High School (San Bernardino, CA)

If you’d like to stay in touch with EAG work, or receive information when the application window for 2016 opens, add this blog via RSS feed or subscribe to our e-newsletter.

On the theme of transition, a message of a more personal nature: I’ll be leaving the SF Fed at the end of this month. I’ve accepted a position at the Reserve Bank of Australia, and will be catching a flight to Sydney after Thanksgiving!

It’s been an incredible six and a half years in the Federal Reserve System. I’ve been grateful to have worked with exceptional educators like you, and have been consistently inspired by your enthusiasm for economics and personal finance education.

The blog will be helmed by my Econ Ed colleagues going forward.  If things look a little different in the months ahead, it’s due to the transition! The blog will be taking a short hiatus in December, but will be back with exciting new content in January 2015.

Best wishes, and thank you for the opportunity to have worked with you!
– Rema

We invite you to apply for a position by submitting the information listed below by December 8, 2014. Selected members will attend a 2-day conference in San Francisco and work with SF Fed Econ Ed staff through December of 2015 on content ideas, teaching activities, the use of technology, and best practices related to teaching about the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy.

Who is eligible to apply?

High school economics, business, and/or social studies teachers; social studies curriculum directors; language arts teachers; math teachers; online economics teachers

During the 2-day conference, you will:

• Work in collaborative teams to discuss your role as an educational leader within your school/district/subject matter area  in terms of the Common Core and educational policy issues (e.g. literacy, student engagement, college attendance)
• Network with Federal Reserve staff and educators
• Tour the vault and Fed Center museum

Compensation

• Round-trip airfare
• Hotel accommodations
• Meals
• $100 travel stipend to cover transportation costs to and from the airport and any incidentals
• $150 for substitute teacher pay, for up to two days
• $500 stipend for full participation in all required activities (payable in 2016)

Your work with the EAG throughout the year will include:

• Pre- and post-test of your knowledge of economic content and the Federal Reserve
• Quarterly virtual meetings with the whole EAG group
• Four teacher-led feedback focus groups with students
• Four teacher feedback surveys on FRBSF education resources
• Two presentations to colleagues about FRBSF economic education resources
• Monthly participation in an online discussion board

Application – Submission deadline is December 8, 2014.

If you are interested in serving on the Education Advisory Group, send the information listed below to econed@sf.frb.org

• First & last name
• School name
• School address/City/State/Zip
• Email
• Primary contact phone number
• Subjects taught this year
• Number of years teaching

Respond to the following prompts (each 250 words or less):

• Tell us how your experience and background will benefit the Education Advisory Group.
• Tell us about a time when you demonstrated leadership skills within your role as an educator.
• How would you leverage your experience with the Education Advisory Group to advance your goals as an educator?

Additional Information

• Those selected for the Education Advisory Group will be notified no later than December 19, 2014.
• An effort will be made to select at least one high school teacher from each of the nine western states within the 12^th District (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington).
• If selected, EAG Fellows will agree to:
  • make themselves available to attend and participate in all sessions of the two-day conference, starting Thursday, February 5, 2015 at 8:00 AM and adjourning on Friday, February 6, 2015 at 2:00 PM
  • serve a one-year commitment (through December 2015)

In today’s installment, we’re talking with Jennifer Antrim, who teaches with the Scottsdale Unified School District’s eLearning Department in Arizona.  She teaches American/Arizona government, economics, and American/Arizona history, including AP courses.

Here is what she had to say:

How long have you been teaching economics?  What do you love most about it?

I’ve been teaching Economics for five years, both in the classroom and online. Compared to the other social studies courses I teach, I really enjoy the logical nature of Economics. We can collect and use data in a meaningful way, make observations, come up with theories, and then take all of that a step further and try to apply it to human behavior and choices. Personally, I like being able to quantify stuff that in real life can be really complicated, and I’ve found that a lot of students do too. When you take a concept like ‘demand’ and break it down into data sets and graphs and use it to make predictions, it seems to click. Using simplified models for big concepts is a great way to start learning something new.

What are your biggest challenges in teaching economics?

One of my biggest challenges in teaching economics is that I feel like I never have enough time! Our economics course is only a semester long, which gives us a great start in basic economic principles and personal finance… but it’s such a big topic, I always wish I had more time to fit more in!

(Interview continues below the picture)

You teach in an online environment.  Because you don’t have traditional face-to-face interaction, do you have specific strategies or resources that you use to help your students understand economic content?

There are a TON of great resources out there for both interacting with students and for interactive tools. In my “classroom” picture above, you can see a virtual meeting with webcams and a white board, which I can use to meet with students one on one, or in small groups. This particular tool is called Big Marker and is free to use. I’ve also used Google hangouts and, of course, the telephone to work with my students on a daily basis. In terms of resources, the SF Fed has some awesome stuff for educators, like DataPost presentations, which work really well as supporting material when students are learning new concepts. I also use EconEdLink for interactives that help reinforce student learning. If you haven’t checked out their Virtual Economics series, it is well worth a look!

You’re currently serving on the SF Fed Educational Advisory Group (EAG).  How has the experience changed your teaching and/or your professional development?

Participating on the EAG has really given me an opportunity to network with other teachers to share ideas and ask questions. I’ve also been motivated to expand my professional development by taking my first graduate level economics course. This year, I will also be presenting some great resources from the SF Fed’s most recent Meet the Experts event to colleagues in my district at one of our upcoming in-services.

What economics education project or topic are you working on that excites you?  Why?

Right now, I’m working on some lessons tying economic data to case studies in American History. When I started teaching, I was in an 8th grade social studies classroom, where I worked really hard to integrate history, government, and economics, rather than studying them in isolation. Kevin Lansing, who presented on asset bubbles at this year’s Meet the Experts, gave me the idea to use economic data to illustrate cause and effect relationships in episodes of American History, and I’m excited to come up with more lessons and examples that my peers can take back to the classroom.

What has been a recent impactful experience that involves your students and economics education?

In online learning, my moments of impact seem really small, but each one renews my commitment to teaching a little bit more. I talk on the phone with my students often, and it’s a great opportunity to diagnose where a student is having trouble understanding a concept. It’s always a great feeling when a student and I pinpoint an area of misunderstanding that is keeping that student from moving forward. That “ooooohhhh… okay, I totally get it now!” moment always makes me smile.

What advice would you give you teachers (of any subject) who would like to insert more economics into their lessons but aren’t sure where to start?

I would advise teachers to look into economic data as a great place to start. There is a wealth of quantitative information that any classroom teacher can integrate. History teachers can use data on unemployment to study the severity of the Great Depression. Math teachers can use any economic data for practice in graphing and calculations. Government teachers can use macroeconomic data in discussions on public policy. Even English teachers can use economic data and articles to support students in practicing technical reading and writing in line with Common Core.

Anything else you’d like to share about your experiences teaching economics?

Just that it’s a super practical area of study and at the very least, every student should understand things that affect them in real life, like personal finance, taxes, and the role of the government and the central bank in their daily lives and long-term decision-making. Economics is not a throw-away topic, but one of subjects we study that is most applicable to our experiences in the real world.

Thanks for talking with us, Jennifer!

And in case you missed it, check out previous posts in the series:
Amy Evers of Clark High School (Las Vegas, NV)
Cheryl Shea of Pinnacle High School (Phoenix, AZ)
Stan Herder of Hawaii Baptist Academy (Honolulu, HI)
Jonnie Fenton of Hanford High School (Richland, WA)
Greg Blandino of Monte Vista High School (Danville, CA)

Last week, almost 100 students and their teachers from five Bay Area high schools and one adult school convened at the San Francisco Fed to learn about the importance of personal finance skills in planning for college and careers. This was the second annual Federal Reserve Financial Education Day, which was established as a day of workshops at Feds around the System to provide tools for making wise choices when investing in education and planning for the future. The SF Fed Economic Education Group hosted the event.

In a series of morning breakout sessions, the students participated in a hands-on personal finance workshop facilitated by Lorraine Thayer and learned about the purposes and functions of the Fed from Steven Fisher. They also attended a session to learn about ways of financing college though scholarships.  The presentation was delivered by Rema Oxandaboure, but was developed by Joel Bervell, a Yale undergraduate from Seattle who collected over $200,000 in scholarships before graduating from high school.

In the afternoon, Jody Hoff moderated a panel of four impressive young entrepreneurs that also was broadcasted live online.* The entrepreneurs ranged in age from 18 to 26 and helm businesses in the food, construction, phone repair, and app development fields. They talked about sources of inspiration, support, financial lessons, and action steps needed to successfully conceive of and run their businesses. A robust Q&A session from both in-person and online audiences capped a spirited discussion.

The afternoon also featured a mentoring roundtable session, in which 23 SF Fed employees from diverse lines of work talked about their educational backgrounds and offered career advice. The students asked the mentors questions about what it’s like to work at the Fed, their career paths, and if given a chance to do it over, what the mentors would do differently in preparing for college.

Several of the students talked with the mentors about starting a business right after school, while others worried about incurring debt associated with attending college. Maya Ito, a senior from Arroyo High School, found the information important as she considers her options for college. “I need to learn how to budget and get information on scholarships, because I don’t want to be in debt after college.”

Kevin Alecca, who is an SF Fed auditor, enjoyed mentoring and spending time with the students. “I was impressed with how many of the students were clear and confident about their career interests and how those interests were driving their post-graduation next steps. They seemed to appreciate that the Fed held the event, and not just because it got them out of the classroom for the day!” Golnaz Motiey works in risk management and agreed with Alecca, adding, “I’m so happy to be part of an important event such as this one and to possibly have even a small impact on the students’ future decisions.”

Visit Lesson One of “Invest in What’s Next: Life after High School,” a new course on college and career decision-making created through a partnership between the San Francisco and the Richmond Feds.

* A video recording of the panel will be available on www.frbsf.org/education in the coming weeks.

You can watch the video, read the full speech, and view the slides at the bottom of this page.

I wanted to highlight for you the four building blocks of economic opportunity that were identified by Chair Yellen in her speech, along with some supporting charts from the survey. In future posts, we’ll dive more deeply into the topic of inequality.

Four Building Blocks of Economic Opportunity in America

#1. Resources Available for Children

Figure 9 above shows that access to quality early childhood education has improved since the 1990s, but it remains limited–41% of children were enrolled in state or federally supported programs in 2013.

#2. Higher Education that Families Can Afford

Figure 10 shows that from 1995 to 2013, outstanding education debt grew from 26% of average yearly income for the lower half of households to 58% of income. The education debt burden was lower and grew a little less sharply for the next 45% of families and was much lower and grew not at all for the top 5%.

#3. Opportunities to Build Wealth through Business Ownership

Figure 11 shows that slightly more than half of the top 5% of households have a share in a private business. The average value of these holdings is nearly $4 million. Only 14% of families in the next 45 have ownership in a private business, but for those that do, this type of wealth constitutes a substantial portion of their assets–the average amount of this business equity is nearly $200,000, representing more than one-third of their net worth. Only 3% of the bottom half of households hold equity in a private business, but it is a big share of wealth for those few.

#4. Inheritances

Figure 12 shows that half of the top 5% of households by wealth reported receiving an inheritance at some time, but a considerable number of others did as well–almost 30% of the next 45% and 12% of the bottom 50.

Just over half of the total value of inheritances went to the top 5% and 40% went to households in the next 45. Seven percent of inheritances were shared among households in the bottom 50% , a group that together held only 1% of all wealth in 2013.

———————————

If you’re looking for a good-to-go measure of income inequality to use with your students, check out our DataPost series that includes updated data and visual explanations of this important topic.

Income Inequality: Measuring the Gap
Using median household income, learn about a method to track trends in income inequality.

Median Household Income: Life in the Middle
Building on the overall household distribution, learn about the trend in median household incomes as a precursor to income inequality.

U.S. Household Incomes: A Snapshot
Learn about the U.S. household income distribution as a jumping-off point for understanding income inequality.

Image of Chair Yellen via FRB Boston

In today’s installment, we’re talking with Amy Evers, who teaches AP U.S. government, AP economics (macro and micro), US government honors, and “We are the People” at Clark High School in Las Vegas, NV.

Here is what she had to say:

How long have you been teaching economics?  What do you love most about it?

This is my sixth year teaching economics. Initially when I was told I would teach the class I not excited at all! I struggled with economics in college and was concerned that I would only confuse students since I was quite confused as well. However, I saw it as a challenge that I had to overcome.

I spent the summer teaching myself economics and went to an AP Economics Summer Institute for additional help. The first year was difficult at times but I had a very understanding group of students and things gradually got easier.

I would say I am now VERY confident in my economics knowledge and actually enjoy the subject. This is what I love about teaching economics. I was able to overcome my lack of understanding and I can use this perspective to help my students when they struggle. Also, due to its difficult nature I feel very empowered to have an understanding of economics.

What are your biggest challenges in teaching economics?

Getting my students to think like economists!

Microeconomics has so much to do about the behavior of consumers and all of my students can relate to being a consumer. However, they cannot relate in economic terms.

For example, if the price of something goes up and the student decides not to buy it they have difficulty relating this to elasticity of demand.

In my class I really try to use a lot of real world examples to help students. I’ll ask students to give me an example of how they “thought like an economist” recently using economic terminology. This has helped improve their understanding.

You’re currently serving on the SF Fed Educational Advisory Group (EAG).  How has the experience changed your teaching and/or your professional development?

I really appreciate the opportunity to interact with other economics teachers. Despite my school district being the 5th largest in the U.S., there are less than ten economics teachers. I rarely get to share ideas of exchange plans.

The EAG has allowed me to get perspectives on teaching economics from so many colleagues. I am also really happy to use all of the web resources on frbsf.org. I have incorporated the videos, powerpoints, and articles extensively in my AP Macroeconomics course.

(Interview continues below the picture)

What economics education project or topic are you working on that excites you?  Why?

My district is moving towards requiring a quarter of economics for all seniors. With a limited number of fellow economics teachers in my district, there is a need for professional development to be offered to others.

I applied be approved to deliver professional development at the end of last school year. I’m waiting for the approval and can’t wait to begin planning.

I imagine creating seminars on basic economics and well as curricular methods. I will definitely use SF Fed resources and share their value with fellow teachers in the classroom.

What has been a recent impactful experience that involves your students and economics education?

I recently attended Meet the Experts at the San Francisco Federal Reserve. I especially enjoyed the presentation on cash operations and economic mobility of the American Dream. I plan to share this information with my students. Mary Daly‘s presentation in particular will be a great discussion for all of my government classes. We can relate it to policy-making and how the study can have an impact on government decisions.

(Interview continues below the picture)

Amy scored a ticket to attend the 2014 State of the Union Address in Washington, D.C. (L) Accepting her ticket from NV Congressman Joe Heck. (R) Meeting with NV Senator Harry Reid in his Capitol office while in D.C.*

What advice would you give you teachers (of any subject) who would like to insert more economics into their lessons but aren’t sure where to start?

Economics may seem difficult but is only because most people don’t think using economic terms. I would advise them to seek out resources in which economics relates to current events or real life experiences.

Use these resources with your students and then explain the economic concepts that relate. Also, I recommend reading a book like Freakonomics or Naked Economics because they are engaging and do a great job of explaining the concepts. Also, attend any professional development you can find. Other teachers are an amazing resource and they can provide many great tips and suggestions.

Anything else you’d like to share about your experiences teaching economics?

At the beginning of the school year I have my students read an article about the inefficiency of gift giving. We talk about how the most efficient gift is cash because it allows the recipient to do what they want with it. It’s always humorous to have students recall gifts they’ve received that they didn’t want.

However, we also discuss why giving cash is efficient but not always appropriate based on the relationship. It helps students to understand the balance of what economics is in theory and in practice.

One year before winter break my students got together and gave me a gift. The homemade card explained that they decided the best gift for an economics teacher was one that was the most efficient. Inside was a $20 bill : )

Thanks for talking with us, Amy!

* If you’d like to see Amy talk about her experience at the State Of the Union Address in Washington, D.C., here’s an interview she did with a local news station.

And in case you missed it, check out previous posts in the series:
Cheryl Shea of Pinnacle High School (Phoenix, AZ)
Stan Herder of Hawaii Baptist Academy (Honolulu, HI)
Jonnie Fenton of Hanford High School (Richland, WA)
Greg Blandino of Monte Vista High School (Danville, CA)

Rollins and the show’s producers wanted to focus on a relatively obscure era in our nation’s currency history – when currency circulating in Hawaii was replaced with specially marked notes in anticipation of a potential invasion by Japan during World War II. Fed Historian Gary Richardson was interviewed about these “Hawaii notes.”

Rollins also interviewed Cash Director Rita Aguilar about the Fed’s cash operations and the use of the shredded currency to generate electricity.

Watch the episode when it airs this Saturday, October 11th, at 10:00pm ET / 11:00pm PT on H2.

The program will also be available on History.com, iTunes, and Amazon.

Also, in case you missed it: Five Things You May Not Know About Money

Andrea Abrams contributed to this post. Photo via.

These blogs were all winners of the Plutus Awards at the 5th Annual FinCon Expo, a peer conference for the financial media community.

Best New Personal Finance Blog: Listen, Money Matters!

Andrew Fiebert and Matt Giovanisci hail from New England, and they have self-proclaimed themselves a personal finance nerd and a reformed debt addict, respectively. Together, they explore money issues and share their research and learning with the purpose of helping others along the same path towards financial freedom and early retirement. They also maintain a podcast.

Best-Kept Secret Personal Finance Blog: Free From Broke

Glen Craig used to live paycheck-to-paycheck, drowning in credit card debt. He turned it around by reigning in spending, taking his job seriously, contributing to his 401(k), and moving back in with his parents to pay off debt.  Today, he is a father of four who is building wealth, not debt.

Best Entrepreneurship Blog: My Wife Quit Her Job

Despite his electrical engineering degree from Stanford and her economics degree from US Davis, Steve and Jennifer Chou were in unsatisfying careers tracks until they decided to launch an online business together.  They share entrepreneurial lessons on their blog and podcast.

Best Blog for Teens/College Students/Young Adults: TeensGotCents

Eva Baker was just 16 when she started her blog, after being inspired by Dave Ramsey’s interesting and fun approach to planning and budgeting finances. The site is dedicated to other teens who want to be smart financially and features categories such as ShoppingCents, CollegeCents, and a section called MomCents written by a regular contributor from an adult’s perspective. Eva asks, “Why wait to live a centsible life?”

Check out all 120+ finalists for even more inspiration and resources!