The Mississippi Council on Economic Education (MCEE) is delighted to announce it has received a very generous grant from BlackRock to expand financial literacy education opportunities for K-12 Mississippi teachers and students statewide.
This investment comes at a pivotal moment for Mississippi as state leaders recently passed and enacted legislation requiring personal finance education for Mississippi students. The Mississippi Legislature, Governor Tate Reeves, Attorney General Lynn Fitch, Secretary of State Michael Watson, Treasurer David McRae and many education and business leaders championed the importance of financial literacy alongside the state’s required economics and college and career readiness coursework, and with BlackRock’s help, MCEE will provide high quality and research based professional development and resources to the teachers that will be required to teach the content.
“This is a landmark moment for Mississippi students,” said Selena Swartzfager, President of the Mississippi Council on Economic Education. “We are deeply grateful to BlackRock for investing in the future financial well-being of Mississippi families and communities. We also applaud and thank our state leaders for recognizing that preparing students for life after graduation must include preparing them to make informed financial decisions. Teachers cannot teach what they do not know and the support from BlackRock will allow MCEE to train our educators to teach students quality personal finance education based in economic reasoning. We will also be able to provide more opportunities for students to practice what they learn.”
The BlackRock grant will help MCEE scale professional development, classroom resources, and student learning opportunities focused on personal finance and economics education, with an emphasis on investing. Funding will support teacher training programs, curriculum resources, classroom activities, and statewide initiatives designed to ensure educators are equipped to teach the new financial literacy standards effectively and confidently.
“We’re pleased to support MCEE and Mississippi’s financial literacy efforts across the state. Helping Americans experience financial well-being is core to our mission at BlackRock,” said BlackRock leadership.
MCEE has long served as Mississippi’s leader in K-12 economics and personal finance education, providing no-cost training and resources to teachers across the state. Through programs such as the Master Teacher of Personal Finance, Stock Market Game, Personal Finance Challenge, and family financial literacy initiatives, MCEE reaches thousands of students annually with real-world financial skills. All of the programs offered by MCEE align with state standards in economics and personal finance.
“As Mississippi moves forward with this important requirement, partnerships like this one with BlackRock will help ensure that every student — regardless of zip code — has access to high-quality financial literacy education,” Swartzfager said. “Financial literacy is workforce readiness, college readiness, and life readiness. Basic financial literacy gives individuals the confidence and knowledge to move from simply earning money to growing it. When people understand concepts like budgeting, saving, risk, compound interest, and diversification, they are better equipped to make informed investment decisions that can build long-term financial security and generational wealth.”
For more information about the Mississippi Council on Economic Education, visit www.mscee.org.