Dear Members,

The personal financial literacy community in California is getting stronger and more effective. The California Jump$tart Coalition now reaches over 750 members in a unified effort to help them in there efforts to improve the financial literacy of California's youth. Please feel free to pass this email on to friends and colleagues who are involved in financial literacy and ask them to sign up for our financial literacy updates.

CALIFORNIA JUMP$TART UPDATES

Welcome and Congratulations. Marnie Nemcoff, Vice President of Matadors Community Credit Union and past Advisory Group member has joined the CAJ$ Board. Ronald Rishagen, an Economics teacher and Chair of the Social Studies Department at Saint Bernard High School in Playa Del Rey, CA has joined our Advisory Group.

Are You a Financial Literacy Leader? If you're interested in getting more involved in CAJ$, please contact me. The Board has formal authority to govern the organization and is charged with setting the vision and ensuring CAJ$ accomplishes its mission and objectives. The Advisory Group includes those who want to help in specific areas and bring unique knowledge and skills which compliment those of the formal board, in order to more effectively govern the organization.

Recognizing Contributions and Achievements. The California Jump$tart Coalition is looking for success stories about California teachers, volunteers, students, donors, organizations and members of the state legislature or other government offices who have made worthy contributions to and important achievements in improving personal financial literacy. The first awards will be announced at the California Jump$tart member meetings in April 2007. Please e-mail your nominations to the Awards Committee: Karen Anderson and Norm Greenbaum. Be sure to include the nominee's name, affiliation and contact information as well as your own, along with a statement of why you believe this person should be considered. During the selection process the Awards Committee may contact you and the nominee for additional information.

Spring Member Meetings. The CA Jump$tart Coalition will host its 2007 spring member meetings in April with two locations to choose from. Both meetings are no cost to attend and tables will be provided for you to share your information. Meeting committee members Rita Fillingane, Robin Rockwood, Margo White, and Carol Highton invite you to join others involved in personal financial literacy, and to network and share information on programs and initiatives! supporting financial education for youth in California. In addition, hear first hand from students who have benefited from financial education as well as from Junior Achievement Teacher of the Year Maynard Brown as he shares his successes at Crenshaw High School. Registration information below:

April 24, 2007 – Los Angeles, CA
Federal Reserve Bank
950 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles
Registration – 9:30am -10:00am
Program – 10:00am – 1:00pm
Networking lunch included
Register here now
(Due to security measurements at the Federal Reserve Bank, prior registration and early arrival is required)

April 26, 2007 - San Francisco, CA
Federal Reserve Bank
101 Market Street, San Francisco, CA
Registration – 9:30am -10:00am
Program – 10:00am – 1:00pm
Networking lunch included
Register here now
(Due to security measurements at the Federal Reserve Bank, prior registration and early arrival is required)

Surveys of Personal Financial Literacy. Board member Margo White has begun work on the successful implementation in California of the 2008 National Jump$tart Survey of High School Seniors. Additionally, preliminary discussions have begun to explore the creation of statistically valid surveys of 4th and 8th grades, tied to national Jump$tart standards.

Government Relations Committee. This newly activated committee, chaired by Jason Alderman and including Board members Jim Charkins, Rita Fillingane and Stanley Breitbard, has begun communications with California legislators. An information gathering meeting is scheduled in Sacramento on February 20, 2007, to develop input for new laws.

FINANCIAL LITERACY RESOURCES

Financial Smarts for Teachers (FSFT). This outstanding training for pre-service teachers has introduced the concepts of personal financial literacy to hundreds of teachers in Northern and Southern California. CAJ$ Board members Mitch Freedman and Jim Charkins are currently firming up and completing seminars sponsored by Citicorp, The Richard Miles Johnson Foundation and McGraw Hill. A memorandum of understanding is being developed with the California Council on Economic Education and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants to take the program forward. On January 27, 2007, a FSFT workshop was presented at California State! University, San Bernardino pursuant to the McGraw Hill grant. Forty-five attendees were exposed to and participated in tax, investment, and home purchase modules of FSFT. The attendees were also given the Citibank curriculum on a DVD. Also, on February 23, 2007, a FSFT workshop will be given on behalf of California State University, Northridge at the downtown Los Angeles Sheraton Hotel from 9 am to 2 pm. For more information and registration contact Bernard Mauricia.

MEMBERS IN THE NEWS

Economics Teacher of the Year. The Chartered Financial Analysts Society of Los Angeles (CFALA) announced the winner of the annual Economics Teacher of
the Year. Maury Zapata, of Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, stood out from the 300 teachers considered for the prize. Mr. Zapata is leading a team in The Los Angeles Capital Markets Contest – conducted by the California Council on Economic Education sponsored by CFALA – which is a motivating approach for ! students to learn about the American economic system. Learn more here.

Early Intervention Education. Results of a recent initiative, developed by Wells Fargo Card Services and based on Visa USA’s Practical Money Skills for Life financial literacy program, showed that first-time credit cardholders enrolled in a post secondary university benefited significantly from early education about responsible borrowing and credit management. The education, which was offered online to new credit cardholders, resulted in increased spending compared to the control group, but recipients of the education established a better credit history on their cards during the period of time monitored in this study and did twice as well in some areas as the control group that did not receive any early intervention! education. The case study is an effective model for other
consu mer education initiatives. Read more about the program here.

Sammy the Rabbit. Sam Renick, Author, Founder, and CEO of The It's a Habit! Company, Inc. is featured in the March issue of Kiplinger Magazine. You can find it here.

There’s a lot going on and a lot to do. Many thanks to all of you for your insights and energy. Please contact me with your ideas and questions.

What else?

Have fun,
Jim Greenwood
Chair
CA Jump$tart Coalition
info@cajumpstart.org
http://www.cajumpstart.org