Thank you for reading the Oregon statewide financial wellness blog series, from the Financial Empowerment Advisory Team.
Across Oregon, impressive things are happening to help put more people on the path to security, solvency, and success. Please let us know about news to include or events for our statewide calendar.
Junior Achievement opens new Oregon mock town for youth financial education
Every year, thousands of Oregon schoolchildren get the opportunity to learn about real-life financial decision making and develop their budgeting skills as they spend a day in a mock cityscape, a project of Junior Achievement of Oregon and Southwest Washington.
On Nov. 8, the nonprofit and benefactors formally cut the ribbon to open its second immersive location, the Junior Achievement Discovery Center, which occupies the second floor of the Hillsboro civic center.
The new site features 18 business and employer storefronts from sponsors and will allow roughly 15,000 students to spend a day engaged in financial learning over the course of the school year. The nonprofit’s first “business town” location is running at capacity, so it worked with the City of Hillsboro and the Northwest Regional Education Service District to make the popular experience available to more students.
“With the launch of the JA Discovery Center in Hillsboro and our continued engagement with the school communities at our Foster Road location in Portland, our potential positive impact on students of all ages is greater than it‘s ever been,” said Barb Smith, president and chief executive of Junior Achievement of Oregon & SW Washington.
The ribbon cutting ceremony featured 18 red ribbons, representing each of the new sponsored storefronts. The center will welcome students from Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook, and Washington Counties within the Northwest Regional Education Service District (NWRESD), which serves more than 98,000 students in 20 school districts.
Nominate a local champion for Oregon’s Financial Empowerment Awards
Across the state, educators and community champions are quietly helping Oregonians to build more secure lives by helping them to be more financially prepared and secure.
Now’s your chance to make some noise about them – and potentially, to help them be recognized with financial prizes.
Nominations are open for the 2024 Oregon Financial Empowerment Awards, which are awarded by the Oregon State Treasury and Financial Empowerment Advisory Team in partnership with the Oregon College Savings Plan. There are two awards: One recognizing a teach and another recognizing an educator. The deadline is March 1, and winners will be announced in April.
The Financial Empowerment Advisory Team will meet on Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. The meeting will be held virtually and is open to the public. The agenda includes a discussion of the 2024 Oregon Financial Wellness Scorecard, which will be released prior to the meeting.
Stock Market Game is free to Oregon students
Oregon students can get a flavor of the investment world – and also learn valuable financial literacy skills – thanks to a partnership that makes available the popular Stock Market Game.
And it’s free to participate.
The Stock Market Game is an exciting simulation that gives students in grades 4-12 the opportunity to invest a virtual $100,000 for 10 weeks in real stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. The Oregon Council on Economic Education (OCEE) provides funding for Oregon schools, public and private, that wish to participate.
Nearly 600,000 students – including almost 5,000 in Oregon – take part every year nationally in the game, which was developed by and is administer by the SIFMA Foundation, an investment industry-connected nonprofit that seeks to address wealth and opportunity gaps via greater knowledge about financial markets.
In Oregon, game sessions are available during the fall and spring terms as well as shorter enrichment sessions, starting on Feb. 5, March 4 and April 15.
In addition to support materials provided by SIFMA, OCEE has support material available, 10 PowerPoint lessons to provide teachers assistance with teaching students the fundamentals of investing.
To learn more, visit OCEE’s website: https://econoregon.org/stock-market-game or contact the OCEE Chairperson, John Tibbetts, at JTibbetts4@gmail.com or
ocee.board@gmail.com
State of Oregon Happenings
State cautions about the use of cryptocurrency ATMS
The Oregon Departments of Justice and Consumer and Business Services are cautioning consumers about using automatic teller machines to purchase cryptocurrency.
Neither the state nor the FDIC regulate or insure cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin. It is difficult to trace and is often used by people who are committing fraud. Also, there is almost nothing that authorities can do if money is lost or stolen.
The state does not track how many cryptocurrency ATMs are operating in Oregon, but the number is growing.
To learn more, visit the Department of Justice at www.oregonconsumer.gov or call 1-877-9392
Department of Education convenes panels to develop personal finance, life skills classes
The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) is underway with the implementation of Senate Bill 3, the legislation passed in 2023 that requires high school students to take personal finance and life skills classes to graduate.
ODE kicked off two content panels in December 2023. The panels are developing the standards for personal financial education as well as higher education and career path skills. Both panels are reviewing best practices and standards nationally, to inform the blueprint in Oregon.
The panels will continue working on drafting the standards through mid-March 2024. In Spring 2024, ODE will conduct engagement on the draft standards. It is anticipated that the new standards will be presented to the Oregon State Board of Education for a first read at their May 2024 meeting.
Additionally, ODE has formed an interagency work group to collaborate with the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) and Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC) to revise Oregon Administrative Rules to implement the requirements outlined by SB 3. Proposed rule revisions will be presented to the Oregon State Board of Education for a first read at their April 2024 meeting.
Future opportunities for engagement include public meetings, focus groups, statewide surveys, and a public comment period.
In the meantime, please visit ODE’s Oregon Diploma webpage for more information or contact ODE.StateGraduationRequirements@ode.oregon.gov.
Oregon Financial Empowerment Roundup
| Date |
Event |
Feb. 6 |
Financial Empowerment Advisory Team, 2 p.m., electronic meeting |
Feb. 7 |
Love and Money Financial Class, 5:30 pm, DevNW, electronic workshop |
Feb. 7 |
Talking to a Banker Workshop for Small Businesses, 6 p.m., MicroEnterprise Services of Oregon |
Feb. 8 |
Is it Love or a Romance Scam? AARP Teletownhall, 2pm |
Feb. 15-18 |
Oregon/Western Business Education Association Conference, Eugene |
April 2 |
Financial Empowerment Advisory Team, 2 p.m., electronic meeting |
April 18 |
Consumer Hour with Oregon’s Insurance Commissioner, AARP Teletownhall, 2pm |
April 27 |
Fraud Fighter Summit, Eugene, 9am |