The McGraw-Hill Companies Supports Early Learning of Money Matters With New Book for Elementary School Students

NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) today announced that it has underwritten the first 7,000 copies of The Nickels, Dimes, and Dollars Book: A Wise Kid's Guide to Money Matters by award-winning children's book author, Ellen Sabin and published by Watering Can Press.

Demonstrating the need for this type of financial literacy material, McGraw-Hill released the results of a survey that found an overwhelming majority of parents are educating their young children at home about sharing, saving, earning and growing money but only about one-third of elementary school teachers are discussing money management topics in their classrooms because of insufficient resources.

"The current economic environment has taught us that financial education is absolutely essential in order for consumers to make smart choices regarding credit, saving, investing and other money matters," said Harold McGraw III, Chairman, President and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies. "The Nickels, Dimes, and Dollars Book offers an exceptional resource for young students to learn about money in school and at home, and gives them a real head start toward making informed choices."

The Nickels, Dimes, and Dollars Book empowers and engages elementary school children to learn about the fundamentals behind money management, encouraging a healthy attitude toward money and a thoughtful approach to financial decisions.  The book combines educational narrative, conversation starters, and learning activities to help children develop knowledge and skills that will teach them to be confident, responsible and mindful when it comes to money matters.

The online survey polled 500 parents and 500 teachers of elementary school age children. Key findings include:

• Both parents and teachers agreed on the importance of working together to teach children about financial matters. More than two-thirds, or 68 percent, of parents felt children should be educated on money matters through parent-teacher partnerships, while 81 percent of teachers felt that parents would be open to partnering with teachers to teach money matters.
• It is important for children in elementary school to begin learning about money matters, according to 83 percent of parents surveyed, and an equal percentage of teachers feel these subjects can be taught effectively or somewhat effectively to elementary age children.  
• Nearly all parents, or 93 percent, say they are currently teaching their children about money matters at home.
• While 35 percent of teachers say money management topics are being taught at their schools, 72 percent feel they do not have sufficient resources to teach money-related topics to elementary school students.

Starting this month, McGraw-Hill volunteers will spread out to third grade classrooms in Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Dubuque, Iowa; New York; and Monterey, California, to interactively read the book and send 5,000 students home with a free copy. A limited number of free books will also be available to teachers, parents and others through www.financiallitnow.org.  

McGraw-Hill's support of The Nickels, Dimes, and Dollars Book is part of the Corporation's wide-ranging Financial Literacy Now campaign. Launched in November 2009, the initiative is focused on giving teachers, students and the public the resources they need to improve their understanding of important financial principles.

Free teachers and parents guides published by Watering Can Press, which offer tips for using the book to engage children and help them learn, will also be provided. The teachers guide links the book to lesson plans that align with the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning's national standards.

"Today's college students are graduating with more credit card debt than ever before, meaning that many of them are starting their adult years by making decisions that could negatively affect their futures," said Ms. Sabin.  "Laying the foundation of financial literacy at an early age will help children develop smart money habits that can become the backbone of their relationship with money for the rest of their lives. The Nickels, Dimes, and Dollars Book creates an opportunity for families and teachers to work together to educate children on money matters and help them gain the knowledge, self-assurance and attitudes necessary to take charge of their financial futures."

Ms. Sabin is the founder of Watering Can Press and the author of The Giving Book, The Hero Book, The Special Needs Acceptance Book, The Autism Acceptance Book, The Healing Book, The Greening Book, and The Healthy Body Book.

Over the past year The McGraw-Hill Companies has been actively promoting financial literacy through its Financial Literacy Now initiative. In June 2010, McGraw-Hill and its campaign partner, the New York Public Library, opened an information hub in Manhattan dedicated to improving New Yorkers' knowledge of personal finance issues. In April of this year, the campaign began connecting financial experts with New York City public high schools to share their insights on such topics as investing, credit cards, and banking. For more information about Financial Literacy Now, visit www.financiallitnow.org and stay up to date on Twitter @FinLitNow and Facebook.  

Increasing financial literacy and economic empowerment have been long-standing initiatives of The McGraw-Hill Companies. Since 1997, the Corporation has leveraged its vision of creating a smarter, better world where everyone can achieve their full potential by supporting programs and partnering with non-profit organizations that help individuals gain the knowledge necessary to make wise savings, credit and spending decisions. The Corporation has provided grants to and supported programs of the Council for Economic Education, the National Academy Foundation, Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy and the Securities Industry Association/Foundation for Investor Education, among many others.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global education and financial information company that plays a crucial role in the knowledge economy with leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts energy information services and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has approximately 21,000 employees with more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.

About Watering Can Press

Watering Can(R) Press publishes award-winning children's books that "grow kids with character." Their interactive, family-friendly activity books engage children in experiences that nurture and inspire them as they grow into their roles as healthy, confident and caring adults. Their books help children explore topics such as giving and charity, tolerance for peers with special needs, getting fit/healthy, going green and more. Additional information is available at www.wateringcanpress.com.  

Release issued: November 18, 2010

SOURCE The McGraw-Hill Companies