Financial Center is proud to announce the launch of the Financial Center Money Matters program, a new personal finance education program for high school students.

Financial Center is collaborating with education technology company, EVERFI, Inc., to launch the financial education initiative in ten local schools across Indianapolis and Kokomo. Financial Center aims to reach thousands of students annually through cutting-edge, web-based instruction offered in classrooms.

With its mission to improve the financial well-being of the communities that Financial Center serves, the new financial education initiative is a key piece of the institution’s larger commitment to its community and members.

High schools that will have access to the Money Matters tool include: Beech Grove, Franklin Central, Lawrence North, Lawrence Central, Southport, Perry Meridian, and Pike in Indianapolis and Kokomo, Western and the Kokomo Area Career Center in Howard County.

“As a former educator, I have witnessed firsthand teens’ lack of knowledge when it comes to managing money and learning to save,” said James Davidson, Financial Center’s Director of Financial Literacy. “Our ability to provide this state-of-the art, free online financial education tool is just one more way that we can help raise the financial education level of the young people and the communities we serve.”

Money Matters features an interactive, new-media learning platform specifically designed to introduce financial literacy skills and build financial capacity necessary as high school students transition into adulthood. Through the web-based course, students are immersed in real-life financial scenarios.

Each of the course modules allows students to move at their own pace, providing bite-sized instructional animations that make the topics approachable and relatable. Complicated processes – like buying a car or filling out the FAFSA form – are broken down for the student in an easy-to-understand way. Additional topics include understanding a paystub, savings and investing, and banking basics.

The platform uniquely tracks the progress and performance of every student. Educators are able to see real-time data on student performance, while the technology aggregates crucial data on hours of learning completed and knowledge gains.

“It’s imperative that today’s students are better prepared for their financial futures, and we’re grateful to Financial Center for stepping up to be a part of the solution in Central Indiana,” said EVERFI CEO, Tom Davidson.