Hawai'i Kids Savings Project to honor teachers at November 30 event

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Michael Cheang, (808) 956-2252
Assistant Professor, Family and Consumer Sciences
Miles Hakoda, (808) 382-7431
OCS
Posted: Nov 29, 2012

'Ele‘ele teachers Lori Carl and Ashley Newton
'Ele‘ele teachers Lori Carl and Ashley Newton
Kuhio teachers Kayde Nakamura and Pam Fox
Kuhio teachers Kayde Nakamura and Pam Fox
Four elementary school teachers will be recognized for developing smart money games for 3rd-graders to play while learning important economic and financial literacy concepts related to the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education’s common core standards. Two teachers from Kaua‘i’s Ele‘ele Elementary School and two from Kuhio Elementary School on O‘ahu are being honored.
 
What: UH Mānoa Hawaiʻi Kids Savings Project Recognition Event
When: Friday, November 30
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Where: University of Hawai‘i Federal Credit Union Conference Room
               2019 South King Street
 
The Hawaiʻi Kids Savings Project was initiated in 2008 with one O‘ahu elementary school and 88 students. Today 1,827 students, 1st- through 5th-graders, from 28 DOE elementary schools statewide have saved a total of $259,563, with an average savings of $115 per child per year.
 
Children’s savings is important:
  • Children with savings dedicated for college education are four times more likely to attend college.
  • Children’s own savings accounts are especially strong predictors of college matriculation. Among youth who expect to attend college, youth with a savings account in their names are about six times more likely to actually attend.
“The University of Hawai‘i is collaborating with many community partners, including several credit unions, to provide this important opportunity for the children,” said Dr. Michael Cheang, who is a principal-investigator on the project with Dr. Diane Masuo. Cheang and Masuo are faculty in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. Initial funding was received from Hawai‘i Community Foundation (Bernice and Conrad von Hamm Fund) to start the pilot project.
 
Funding support also came from the following funders: Hawai’i Community Foundation (general funds, Bernice and Conrad von Hamm Fund, and Group 70 Foundation), Bank of Hawai‘i, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Hatch), the National Credit Union Association, the Aloha United Way, and UH Mānoa's Office of Student Equity Excellence and Diversity.
 
'Ele‘ele teachers photo caption from left to right: Sen. Suzanne Chun-Oakland, 'Ele‘ele 3rd-grade teachers Lori Carl and Ashley Newton, UH Mānoa's Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) department chair Dr. Bobbie Yee, project collaborator and FCS associate professor Dr. Diane Masuo, and project Principal Investigator and FCS assistant professor Dr. Michael Cheang.
 
Kuhio teachers photo caption from left to right: Sen. Suzanne Chun-Oakland, Kuhio 3rd-grade teachers Kayde Nakamura and Pam Fox, UH Mānoa's Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) department chair Dr. Bobbie Yee, project collaborator and FCS associate professor Dr. Diane Masuo, and project Principal Investigator and FCS assistant professor Dr. Michael Cheang.