For immediate release DATE: December 12, 2020
Youth play toward a bright financial future
Game-based learning a game changer for under-represented students ..........developing financial literacy and math skills through new partnership
Students are learning to manage finances, save for long-term goals and spend money smartly through a new partnership between Goalsetter and Calculus Roundtable, two organizations with proven track records in empowering youth of color.
The initiative features a game-based financial literacy curriculum, access to savings accounts and monetary achievement incentives. It was rolled out this fall to 30 teens enrolled in a new online Calculus Roundtable Entrepreneurial Math class designed to motivate underserved youth to develop math skills by tapping into their personal interests to embark on their own business.
Goalsetter CEO and Founder, Tanya Van Court formerly an executive at both Nickelodeon and Discovery, will work directly with these aspiring youth business builders during a guest appearance on December 18. Along with real-time contact with working entrepreneurs, the concrete financial knowledge they’re getting can directly impact their lives and communities.
"Goalsetter and Calculus Roundtable share a common mission to empower families, especially families of color, through access to financial literacy and entrepreneurial math skills via game-based education, fostering a mindset of saving and owning that opens doors for kids. Putting knowledge, skills and fun into the hands of the individuals and communities we serve is incredibly exciting!" says Tanya Van Court.
Fun isn’t taken lightly by Goalsetter nor Calculus Roundtable. It’s the game changer behind the ongoing success of Calculus Roundtable Programs in engaging students and closing achievement gaps in STEM subjects for the over 18,000 students served over the past seven years--many right in the heart of Silicon Valley. In fact, three of the top ten California schools with the fastest growing proficiency rates for African American students, are schools within Calculus Roundtable’s network of schools. For Goalsetter, lessons and quizzes featuring fun memes and pop-culture icons captivate kids while boosting their financial literacy.
The program integrates three key factors--game-based learning, savings accounts and teachers/mentors of color-- all shown by research to promote academic and financial success, particularly for children of color and from low- and mid-income families.
“Kids need more than a curriculum,” says Calculus Roundtable’s director, Jim Hollis. “They need access to the tools, the mindset, and other people’s experiences, so that academic success becomes a process.”
Van Court’s belief in the power of saving is backed up by research. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, children from low- or-moderate-income families who have a savings account for college are three times more likely to attend college and four times more likely to graduate—even for accounts holding less than $500.
The Goalsetter app also gives Calculus Roundtable a new way to incentivize students by allowing monetary achievement awards from donors to be deposited directly into student savings accounts to support their long-term savings goals. It also gives students a new way to look at the value of money and the value of math to communicate monetary issues. Teaching students about finances as they save for tangible goals makes financial literacy personally relevant.
Teachers of color boost the academic performance of students of color, with research citing improved reading and math test scores, improved graduation rates and increases in aspirations to attend college. Van Court is a great example of the level of contacts students meet through Calculus Roundtable, which builds critical social capital development for youth into its program.
ABOUT CALCULUS ROUNDTABLE:
Since 2013, Calculus Roundtable has delivered hands-on, gamified content in relevant methods including digitally, through its after-school and school day programs with students of color and under-represented communities in the Bay Area, Silicon Valley and nationally. Core to our teaching philosophy is go to where the kids are, make it fun, and the learning will happen.
Calculus Roundtable programs are now available to schools and districts across the nation through the recently-launched STEM Broadcasting Network (SBN).
ABOUT GOALSETTER:
Goalsetter is a growing specialized app that empowers families to talk about, learn about and take action regarding their own financial literacy and financial success in the area of saving money. Run by an African American woman, the company takes equity and community empowerment seriously. Goalsetter is the leading Financial Tech firm in the US with an exclusive focus on young people’s finances and their financial literacy .
ENDNOTES //
Contact details: Erica Hohman
External link: Goalsetter.co
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