The Village School has again been named a W!SE Blue Star School its performance on the W!SE Financial Literacy Certification Test, marking the tenth time the school earned this award, which will be presented in November. The award is for the 2017-18 academic year.
W!SE gives its award criteria as: “A school, testing more than 10 students, must have achieved an 80 percent passing rate on our Financial Literacy Certification Test and have a majority of students on a given grade level take the Test.”
Jeffrey Bernstein, Village School social studies and economics teacher, said, “We had 10 out of our 11 economics students take the Test achieving a school average of 80. One student was unable to take the Test due to a scheduling conflict.”
“We are truly proud of your students’ accomplishment,” David Anderson, W!SE executive vice president, said of the Village School. “Through your personal finance instruction, you have given them vital knowledge about personal finance. You have also provided them with the tools they need to become financially capable young adults. Your commitment and dedication are admirable.”
The Certification Test, designed and administered by W!SE (Working in Support of Education), reflects the New York State Education Department’s economic curriculum on finance. It evaluates students’ knowledge of banking, savings, investing, credit, insurance, and money management, and also gauges their ability to manage their own finances. The New York Financial Literacy Coalition works with non-profit organizations, financial service firms, teachers, school administrators, and parents.
The W!SE program, developed in 2003 in Queens and the Bronx, has expanded nationally and has been widely recognized for its success, including receiving the U.S. Treasury Department’s John Sherman Award for Excellence in Financial Education.
