30 Iowa High Schools Win $1,000 in Financial Litearcy Challenge
Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge Encourages Hundreds of Students to Demonstrate Their Financial Understanding
HIAWATHA, IOWA (March 5, 2015) — Students from across the state demonstrated their grasp of financial concepts and many won their school $1,000 in the process.
Iowa Student Loan®, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Education, the Iowa Jump$tart Coalition, Junior Achievement of Central Iowa and the Iowa College Access Network, offered cash awards to Iowa high schools that participated in the 2015 Iowa Financial Know- How Challenge. Thirty high schools were awarded $1,000 intended to improve the school’s financial literacy programs and scholarship funds.
The Challenge incorporated the use of Iowa Student Loan’s online financial literacy tutorial Student Loan Game PlanSM and the ROCI Reality Check into classroom instruction. With Student Loan Game Plan, high school students learned ways they could plan ahead and borrow less for college by making informed financial decisions. The ROCI Reality Check helped students discover their return on college investment through earnings potential based on major and career choice.
“I think the tools that are provided to the students are a valuable part of our curriculum,” said Kurt Brown, a business education teacher at OA-BCIG High School. “It allows the students to see the real costs and some of the real benefits as well as what their options are. Anytime we can get more information to our students it is a positive thing. I appreciate the Student Loan Game Plan and the ROCI Reality Check.”
The Challenge also helped schools address financial literacy requirements for the Iowa Core 21st Century Skills when educators use each tool alone or design their own curriculum. Iowa Student Loan continuously offers classroom guides that provide discussion and assignment topics, as well as a correlation to the Iowa Core.
“Up to this point my students had little to no knowledge about student loans. The Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge is a great eye-opening lesson for our students that relates to the Iowa Core,” said Erin Hoffman, a business and computer teacher at Kingsley-Pierson High School. “The examples provided in the Student Loan Game Plan and the ROCI Reality Check helped my students relate to this real life experience. This is a strong financial literacy program that helps our students prepare for their futures and I look forward to using this educational tool again.”
Winning Schools
Winners of the cash drawing were randomly selected earlier this month from Iowa high schools that completed the Challenge. The following winners were chosen from the eligible schools.
| School Name | City | School Name | City |
| Ballard High School | Huxley | Marquette High School | Bellevue |
| Bellevue High School | Bellevue | Melcher-Dallas High School | Melcher-Dallas |
| Camanche High School | Camanche | Mid-Prairie High School | Wellman |
| Centerville High School | Centerville | North High School | Sioux City |
| Central High School | DeWitt | OA-BCIG High School | Ida Grove |
| Decorah High School | Decorah | Perry High School | Perry |
| Eagle Grove High School | Eagle Grove | Pleasant Valley High School | Bettendorf |
| Essex High School | Essex | Postville High School | Postville |
| Greene County High School | Jefferson | Prairie High School | Cedar Rapids |
| H-L-V Jr-Sr High School | Victor | Riceville High School | Riceville |
| Humboldt High School | Humboldt | Southeast Polk High School | Pleasant Hill |
| Indianola High School | Indianola | St. Ansgar High School | St. Ansgar |
| Interstate 35 High School | Truro | Thomas Jefferson High School | Council Bluffs |
| Kingsley-Pierson Community High School | Kingsley | Treynor High School | Treynor |
| Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto High School | Mapleton | West Liberty High School | West Liberty |
The winning schools will each receive $1,000: $500 intended to improve or continue financial literacy programs and $500 intended for school scholarship funds.
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About ICAN
The Iowa College Access Network is a nonprofit, educational organization. ICAN is the College Access Network for Iowa, and a member of the National College Access Network (NCAN). ICAN has locations in Cedar Rapids, Sioux City and West Des Moines, which provide information and support to students and their families as they plan their postsecondary education and apply for financial aid. All ICAN programs and services are provided without charge. For more information about ICAN, call (877) 272-4692 or visit www.ICANsucceed.org
About Iowa Student Loan
Since 1981, Iowa Student Loan, a private, nonprofit organization, has helped Iowa students and families obtain the resources necessary to succeed in postsecondary education. Iowa Student Loan has helped more than 375,000 students pay for college. The organization, based in West Des Moines, Iowa, also provides an array of borrower benefits, financial literacy tools and community reinvestment programs, including support for free college planning services for students and their families. For more information about Iowa Student Loan, visit www.IowaStudentLoan.org.
