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FOR MIDDLE-SCHOOL TEACHERS
"Money Math: Lessons for Life" uses math to teach kids the importance of financial literacy

Nasdaq MarketSite, New York City - Twenty partners, including the U.S. Department of the Treasury will launch the first-ever, math-based financial literacy curriculum for kids that is national in scope on Monday, May 7, 2001, live from the market open ceremony at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square. The Money Math: Lessons for Life program will be made available to 110,000 math teachers in 16,000 school districts for incorporation into fall 2001 curricula. Money Math and the importance of personal finance education for kids were discussed during an event at the Nasdaq MarketSite. Nasdaq Executive Vice President of Issuer Affairs, David Weild opened the event. The key spokespersons were: Chi McBride the Principal of David Kelley's Boston Public on Fox, David A. Lebryk, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fiscal Operations and Policy, U.S. Treasury Department, Randy Lively, Chairman of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy and Ken & Daria Dolan of the WOR Radio Network. Representatives from the partnering organizations were present.

In response to the country's low financial literacy rates among teens, the Treasury Department working with the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy and the Center for Economic Education (University of St. Louis, MO) developed a supplemental middle school math curriculum that teaches the importance of sound personal finance to students in grades 7 through 9 and works as a skills building block to equip youth for a future when they will be required to handle even more complex concepts. Money Math lesson topics include income, saving, taxes, and budgeting. The launch of this important middle-school financial education program comes on the heels of Alan Greenspan's recent call-to-action urging the teaching of basic financial management skills to kids beginning at a young age.

The concept of creating a curriculum supplement specifically for middle-school math classes emerged after consecutive results of the Jump$tart Coalition's nationwide survey on financial knowledge of 12th graders, revealed that when it comes to personal finance topics such as paying taxes, using a credit card, or saving toward retirement, today's high school seniors receive failing marks. On average, participants in the 2000 study answered only 51.9% of the questions correctly. While teens may not know how to manage their money, they do know a thing or two about spending it. In 2000, teens spent $155 billion, which is equal to Mexico's yearly exports or the annual sales of the entire U.S. aerospace industry. In 1999, 460,000 people age 35 or under filed for bankruptcy.

According to a January 2001 survey administered by the American Savings Education Council (ASEC), 61% of parents feel that schools should share the responsibility of providing financial education to their children, although most schools have no structured or required finance curricula. Of the 1,000 parents surveyed, only 7% said their children, ranging in age from 6-17, understand financial matters very well. According to Dara Duguay, Executive Director of Jump$tart "the positive news is that education works as proven in studies reporting improved money management skills among students exposed to financial education." Duguay adds "the inclusion of this important topic in mandatory classes like math is critical."

All four lessons will be available online beginning May 7, 2001 www.savingsbonds.gov and at http://coach.dosomething.org. Both the web-based lessons and print materials are available for free. To request a paper copy of Money Math, Just send an e-mail to monevmathfoibpd.treas.gov. For facts and statistics about young people and spending, visit the JumpStart Coalition's website at www.iumpstartcoalition.org.