News - pcgazette.com

News

SPASH course draws some national exposure

By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
A money management course at Stevens Point Area Senior High School is gaining some national exposure from General Electric.

A crew from PepperCom Communications was in Stevens Point in May to prepare a video press release about the GE Center for Financial Learning, a webpage at www.financiallearning.com to provide personal financial education on the Internet.

Wayne McCaffery, who teaches the course to 100-150 students each year, said "evidently, we exceeded their expectations" in reference to comments from the crew as students were interviewed.

"They were thrilled with our students," McCaffery said. "As each student left, they couldn't believe how articulate they were."

The impression extended beyond the classroom. "They were impressed with the demeanor of the student body," he said, adding that the crew recognized the crowded facilities in the school because of difficulties in finding locations to film in the building.

Tom Topinka of GE Financial Assurance, which funds the website, said about 18 months ago GE wanted to make people aware that it was involved in consumer financial services and launched the site on Feb. 29.

Meggan Lennon of PepperCom said the site is completely objective, with no advertising, no products or marketing sold. In order to keep it objective, GE formed an advisory board which monitors the information to ensure it is completely objective, she said.

PepperCom was hired to prepare the video press release, which, Topinka said, will probably be released in September to television stations around the country, allowing those stations to conduct interviews about the website.

He said GE recognizes SPASH as an academic school because of its money management class in the curriculum, and said the students "will be financially literate at 18 years old," adding "what better place to start than in high school."

Financial literacy is the goal of the course, McCaffery said, beginning with a basic understanding of the seven main types of insurance, such as life, health, car and property.

Much of the rest of the course, he said, "is attitude adjustment that some of what you earn is yours' to keep."

If a person lives on 90 percent of their income, they will accumulate a surprising amount of wealth, he said. "If you save $1 a day for 50 years, it gives you more than $1 million."

He said he tries to work with students so that when they go to spend money they think of what the opportunity costs them. "Almost all of culture is based on consumption," he said. "I spend 90 days trying to talk about wealth accumulation, the power a buck in the bank can mean."

The students do an in-depth analysis of mutual funds and spend a couple of weeks on stocks and bonds to see how the stock market operates.

The class is popular with parents, he said, and he gets feedback from them, saying they want to take the class because the students are sharing information with them.

The students normally participate in a statewide contest on stocks and bonds for 10 weeks, which is a short time and can disrupt the best-laid plans.

"A couple of times, the best students who won were in special education or tech ed," he said. "I think they learn a good lesson."

And he gets feedback from former students, too. A few days ago a SPASH graduate stopped by to tell him he wished he had taken the class so he knew more about financial matters.

The graduate used the term "one regret," McCaffery said, and other teachers started calling him "one regret" after they heard the comment.



	SPASH course draws some national exposure By GENE KEMMETER of The Gazette A money management course at Stevens Point Area Senior High School is gaining some national exposure from General Electric. A crew from PepperCom Communications was in Stevens Point in May to prepare a video press release about the GE Center for Financial Learning, a webpage at www.financiallearning.com to provide personal financial education on the Internet. Wayne McCaffery, who teaches the course to 100-150 students each year, said "evidently, we exceeded their expectations" in reference to comments from the crew as students were interviewed. "They were thrilled with our students," McCaffery said. "As each student left, they couldn't believe how articulate they were." The impression extended beyond the classroom. "They were impressed with the demeanor of the student body," he said, adding that the crew recognized the crowded facilities in the school because of difficulties in finding locations to film in the building. Tom Topinka of GE Financial Assurance, which funds the website, said about 18 months ago GE wanted to make people aware that it was involved in consumer financial services and launched the site on Feb. 29. Meggan Lennon of PepperCom said the site is completely objective, with no advertising, no products or marketing sold. In order to keep it objective, GE formed an advisory board which monitors the information to ensure it is completely objective, she said. PepperCom was hired to prepare the video press release, which, Topinka said, will probably be released in September to television stations around the country, allowing those stations to conduct interviews about the website. He said GE recognizes SPASH as an academic school because of its money management class in the curriculum, and said the students "will be financially literate at 18 years old," adding "what better place to start than in high school." Financial literacy is the goal of the course, McCaffery said, beginning with a basic understanding of the seven main types of insurance, such as life, health, car and property. Much of the rest of the course, he said, "is attitude adjustment that some of what you earn is yours' to keep." If a person lives on 90 percent of their income, they will accumulate a surprising amount of wealth, he said. "If you save $1 a day for 50 years, it gives you more than $1 million." He said he tries to work with students so that when they go to spend money they think of what the opportunity costs them. "Almost all of culture is based on consumption," he said. "I spend 90 days trying to talk about wealth accumulation, the power a buck in the bank can mean." The students do an in-depth analysis of mutual funds and spend a couple of weeks on stocks and bonds to see how the stock market operates. The class is popular with parents, he said, and he gets feedback from them, saying they want to take the class because the students are sharing information with them. The students normally participate in a statewide contest on stocks and bonds for 10 weeks, which is a short time and can disrupt the best-laid plans. "A couple of times, the best students who won were in special education or tech ed," he said. "I think they learn a good lesson." And he gets feedback from former students, too. A few days ago a SPASH graduate stopped by to tell him he wished he had taken the class so he knew more about financial matters. The graduate used the term "one regret," McCaffery said, and other teachers started calling him "one regret" after they heard the comment.