Thank you to Nancy Labricciosa and Amanda Volz for joining me in conversation on this NGPF podcast. We honored both Nancy and Amanda recently as Teacher-Innovators (see NGPF press release) based on the projects they submitted for our annual contest. Amanda shares details about her Retirement Investing Project and the hooks she uses to get high school students interested in investing for future goals.

Amanda discusses how she uses a “Shark Tank” format in her Company Competition project. This project provides students with a template to evaluate investing in publicly held companies and hones their communication skills as they make a persuasive argument as to why their company is better than their competition (think Coke vs. Pepsi). I know that you will enjoy hearing from these innovative teachers!

• 0:00~1:56 – Intro
• 1:56~3:17 – Nancy describes her project
• 3:17~6:59 – Bringing retirement lessons to life
• 6:59~9:36 – Aha moments for students
• 9:36~10:50 – Cautioning students about relying only on Social Security
• 10:50~21:25 – Insights that students share in their written reflections/how this project engages parents too/modifications to the project over time
• 21:25~23:15 – Final thoughts
• 23:15~23:43 – Word from our sponsor

• 23:43~26:24 – Amanda describes her project
• 26:24~27:07 – Amanda describes her investing unit and where this project fits in
• 27:07~28:18 – Creativity of student presentations
• 28:18~29:05 – Format of “Shark Tank” presentations
• 29:05~29:43 – Amanda’s role on the project
• 29:43~30:48 – Areas where students struggle the most
• 30:48~31:57 – Guidance for other teachers
• 31:57~ Conclusion

• Nancy recommends that parents share financial details with their kids
  • Ron Lieber’s column in NY Times provides some examples of how one family did it

• “You don’t know if social security will be enough because of inflation so they need to depend on themselves and save and invest and make sure they are financially stable”

• “Giving kids a bit of flexibility and freedom in how they present surprises me as a teacher as I get to see their creativity”

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.