Financial Awards Available for Washington, DC High School Students Participating in Financial Education Program

Washington, DC, March 7, 2011 - Today marks the first day that high-school students can complete the online 2011 National Financial Capability Challenge, a joint education program of the U.S. Departments of Treasury and Education. The Investment Company Institute Education Foundation (ICIEF) is underwriting a new awards program intended to encourage Washington, DC high school students to participate in the Challenge, which is designed to engage educators in teaching personal finance and to increase the financial knowledge and capability of high-school aged youth across the United States.

More than 76,000 students and 2,500 educators in all 50 states participated in the Spring 2010 Challenge, but fewer than 20 students in Washington, DC completed the exam. The new ICIEF award program is designed to encourage DC participation. ICIEF will award $1,000 each to the five highest-scoring DC high school students in the program with scores above 70%; each of their schools will also receive awards of $1,000. In addition, two awards of $1,000 each will go to the two DC high schools with the highest student participation.

All educators working with high-school aged youth – whether currently teaching personal finance or not – are eligible and encouraged to participate by registering at the Challenge website. The site also provides free classroom resources. The 30-minute Challenge exam can be taken any time between March 7 and April 8, 2011. For more information about the Challenge, please see the Challenge website.