PwC and Knowledge@Wharton High School Co-host First Seminar for High School Educators on Business and Financial Responsibility

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- PwC US and Knowledge@Wharton High School (KWHS) today welcomed 150 educators from across the country to the inaugural PwC-KWHS Seminar for High School Educators on Business and Financial Responsibility. The three-day seminar seeks to strengthen financial literacy skills and entrepreneurship among high school students by providing educators with lessons and skills to teach financial-education classes. More than 75 additional educators are participating virtually.

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The informative seminar addresses two major issues impacting the teaching of financial literacy: that fewer than 20 percent of teachers say they feel equipped to teach such a class and that many believe costs are a major barrier to receiving the training necessary to teach the subject well.

The event is being held on the University of Pennsylvania campus and features customized training sessions by Wharton professors of management, marketing, finance, leadership, legal studies and business economics, as well as PwC executives. Rosie Rios, treasurer of the United States and Annamaria Lusardi, Denit Trust distinguished scholar in economics and accountancy at The George Washington University School of Business, among others, will present.

"Everyone at the Wharton School shares my deep pride that Knowledge@Wharton High School has joined with PwC for this important program," said Mukul Pandya, executive director and editor-in-chief of Knowledge@Wharton. "As we inaugurate this seminar series, our goal is to provide tools for educators to improve financial literacy for students worldwide. Although our ambitions are great, the need for such knowledge and insights is even greater."

The initiative is a part of PwC's Earn Your Future, a $160 million commitment—comprising $60 million in cash donations and one million service hours worth $100 million—to advance youth education and financial literacy in the U.S. Over the next five years, PwC will leverage its 35,000 people to develop the financial competency of more than 2.5 million youth and educators. Also part of PwC's Earn Your Future, the newly established PwC's Financial Literacy Award will recognize educational leadership in financial literacy.

"Particularly with financial literacy, the business community is in a position to make a direct impact on students and provide them with valuable money management skills based on responsible decision making that they can begin using right away, even as teenagers," said Shannon Schuyler, PwC's corporate responsibility leader. "PwC knows that one of the best ways to reach those students is through their teachers, so we are bringing 150 educators to this seminar, giving them access to our people and our resources, so that they walk into their classrooms on Monday better equipped to teach their students how to save, how to invest, how to borrow, and most importantly, how to be successful in the future." 

All expenses for educators to attend were covered by PwC and attendees will also receive electronic copies of PwC's financial literacy curricula that they can begin using immediately in their classrooms. In addition, they will learn about the many free financial literacy resources available to teachers and students through Knowledge@Wharton High School. Upon completion of the seminar, participants will receive a certificate from Knowledge@Wharton.

PwC's Financial Literacy Award
During the seminar, PwC will announce the first annual PwC's Financial Literacy Award recognizing individual contributions to improving financial literacy among our nation's high school students. The first place winner will receive $5,000 for his or her high school to support financial literacy education and two honorable-mention recipients will each receive $2,500. The winning educators will receive priority entry into the 2013 PwC and KWHS Seminar for High School Educators on Business and Financial Responsibility. Additional information on the award can be found on PwC's website. The application period opens on Oct. 15 and closes on Dec. 31. Educators may teach any subject matter and may teach at a public, private or charter school as long as it is a registered 501(c)(3).

"As a teacher, I see firsthand how students wrestle with one of the biggest debt decisions of their lives, their student debt choice. Yet many students never receive any kind of financial education prior to making such an important choice. We need to connect educators to tools and concepts they can pass on to their students," said Brian Page, a high school teacher from Reading, Ohio, and seminar panelist. "This seminar is a great illustration of how successful partnerships can be formed between educational institutions, government and the private sector to prepare students to make wise and informed financial choices in a 21st century economy. I'm thrilled to be a part of it."

The seminar is the first in a planned series to be offered by PwC and KWHS. Future trainings will be held across the country with an emphasis on the 13 states that require a course in personal finance as a high school graduation requirement (states include Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Missouri, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia).

For a full overview of the seminar, please visit the website.

About the PwC network
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© 2012 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the US member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

About the Wharton School and Knowledge@Wharton
Founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. With a broad global community and one of the most published business school faculties, Wharton creates ongoing economic and social value around the world. The School has 5,000 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 9,000 annual participants in executive education programs; and a powerful alumni network of 91,000 graduates.

Knowledge@Wharton is the online business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The site, which is free, captures relevant knowledge generated at Wharton and beyond by offering articles and videos based on research, conferences, speakers, books and interviews with faculty and other experts on current business topics. The Knowledge@Wharton network – including Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Indian, Arabic and High School editions – has more than two million subscribers worldwide.

SOURCE PwC US