Nebraska teachers earn national certification in personal finance

Forty-four Nebraska second and postsecondary teachers earned national certification in personal finance last month at the Personal Finance Institute at Wayne State College.

Teachers successfully completed the nationally recognized Financial Literacy Certification Exam titled WISE (Working in Support of Education) and earned graduate credit from either the University of Nebraska-Lincoln or Wayne State. Tammie Fischer, director of the Center for Economic Education at UNL's College of Business Administration, Patricia Arneson of Wayne State, Sherry Roberts of Middle Tennessee State University and Mike Casey of the University of Central Arkansas were institute instructors.

The goal of the institute was to better prepare educators who teach personal finance. In addition to intense classroom instruction, participants heard from guest financial speakers and experienced successful local entrepreneurial endeavors as they toured Heritage Industries, Concord Components, and Sand Creek Post and Beam Manufacturing.

Sponsors that made the institute possible included Partnerships for Innovation, Federal Reserve Bank, Nebraska Council on Economic Education, Centris Federal Credit Union, Financial Planning Association of Nebraska, Metropolitan Community College's Financial Planning Program, Pearson Publishing and the Nebraska Department of Education. WISE donated 250 free student WISE certification exams valued at $2,500 to be utilized by 12 different schools during the coming school year.

For more information about the Personal Finance Institute, visit www.education.ne.gov/BMIT/Curriculum/PFI.html.

Participating teachers by school:

Arcadia Public School: Emily Stoltenberg.

Arlington Public Schools: Teresa Feick.

Central Community College: Maryann Bolton, David Schultz.

Bellevue West High School: Jeanette Carlson, Gogi Supenski.

Cambridge Public School: Stephanie Carlson.

Columbus High School: Ramona Schoenrock, Kari Tunink.

Elkhorn High School: Nick Jarzynka, Maegan Lindquist, Steve Selk.

Fillmore Central High School: Cindy Talley.

Hastings St. Cecilia High School: Esther Harig.

Lincoln East High School: Lori Anderson.

Lincoln Lutheran Middle/High School: Lisa Burger.

Lincoln Public Schools Entrepreneurship Focus Program: Deb Payne.

Loup County Public School: Amy Copper.

Millard North High School: Karen Timm.

Millard South High School: Lynn Hill, Jamie Robinson.

Millard West High School: Rhonda Chomos, Melissa Schram, Lydia Swanson.

Norris High School: Sid Conrad.

Omaha Central High School: Colleen Lenners, Derek Leslie, Denise Powers, Brian Swanigan.

Omaha North High Magnet School: Barry Thomas, Colleen Williams.

Omaha Northwest High School: Samuel Okrina.

Omaha South High School: Daniel Coffey.

Omaha Westside Middle School: Crystal Bolamperti.

Tri County High School: Dennis Krejci.

Valentine Community Schools: Dana Buurman.

Wakefield Community Schools: Lori Harding.

Wausa Public School: Dawn Friedrich.

Wayne Public Schools: Josh Johnson.

Wayne State College: Mary Ann Gute, Kiley Peterson, Seth White.

Winnebago Public School: Barry L. Bonneau, Debbie Ehrlich.

WRITER: Jennifer Davidson