Frequently Asked Questions
About Check Your School and this Website
I know my school offers financial education, but you don’t have any information. Is the tool working?
Yes, it’s probably working correctly. One of the key aspects of Project Groundswell and the Check Your School campaign is not only to increase financial education in schools across the county, but also, to promote effectiveness in financial education. If your school offers financial education but we don’t yet show it in our database, it may be because we’re still working to determine that it has all the Essential Elements of Effective Financial Education. You can help us by using the Add Your School tool.
In a state where financial education is required, why isn’t every school already listed in your database?
Not all state requirements encompass the Essential Elements of Effective Financial Education, which we think lead to financially literate students; so we don’t automatically list all the schools in “requirement states” to give ourselves a chance to learn more about the financial education offered there and see how we can help.
I’m not entirely sure the information I have about a school is correct. Should I still use the Add Your School tool?
Absolutely! The information you provide is most important as a starting point, which enables us to engage with educators and offer to be helpful. Just tell us what you know, and we’ll check in with the school and adjust the information, if necessary.
I submitted a school using the Add Your School form, but the result hasn’t changed in your database. Did I do something wrong?
Not at all. After you add a school, we reach out to the teacher contact you provided to learn more about the curriculum and check it against our Essential Elements of Effective Financial Education. It may be that the educator has not yet had time to respond to us, or that your school is working to improve its financial education program. That said, we would love to have you highlight the importance of financial education by emailing, calling, or mentioning the Check Your School listing to educators whenever you get a chance!
My school isn’t showing up. What am I doing wrong?
If your school isn’t immediately showing up, give the database a moment to fully load. (This is particularly important if you live in a high-population state, where it might take a second for all of the schools to show up.) If it’s still not showing up, please drop us a line and let us know! We get our database information from the Department of Education, but there are still omissions. This is especially true for private, new, or renamed schools.
How will you use the data collected through this website?
Jump$tart will use the information to inform this initiative as we move forward. The information collected is not intended to be used as research. In fact, progress in expanding effective classroom-based financial education is being tracked by a separate bench-marking study that has been generously underwritten by ump$tart’s long-time national partner, the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE).
About Jump$tart and the Financial Literacy Effort
How can I join Jump$tart and/or the Check Your School campaign?
There’s no formality to joining the effort. All we need is your willingness to help!
If you represent a company or organization, please visit Jump$tart’s main website to learn more about national coalition partnership. If your organization has a local focus, you may want to join the state coalition in your area. Then, follow us on Twitter and Facebook to stay connected.
How can I volunteer?
Check Your School does not have a volunteer corps, but rather, relies on parents, students, educators, and everyone else to support the effort by checking with their own schools and starting the conversation there. Our toolkits can help you do that. To learn about other volunteer opportunities, check out Jump$tart’s “Pitch In” page.
Can you send a speaker for my class, my PTA meeting, etc.?
For presenters on financial literacy topics, as well as the Check Your School campaign, we encourage you to reach out to the Jump$tart-affiliated state coalition nearest you. (Each determines their availability and ability to assist independently.) Contact us for additional assistance, but please keep in mind that long-distance travel may be prohibitive.
Can you provide sponsorship or product donations?
As a non-profit organization, Jump$tart raises its operating funds—as well as funds to support initiatives such as Check Your School—through donations and sponsorships, too. Therefore, we’re not in a position to donate to other efforts. For products donations, many financial education resources are already offered at no cost to you. Search the Jump$tart Clearinghouse by setting the price filter at “free.”
Can you help us lobby lawmakers for a financial education requirement?
Materials in our Advocacy Toolkit will help you make the case for the importance of financial literacy and the need for effective financial education; however, since neither Jump$tart nor the Check Your School campaign pursues legislative solutions, we do not have tools designed specifically for that purpose.
Can you help me with/advise me on financial matters?
We’re sorry, no. Jump$tart is not a financial advisor or counselor; however, a number of our partner organizations can help you find credit counselors, financial counselors, and financial planners. (Please note that this may not be construed as an endorsement or recommendation of these service providers.)
Will you post my financial education resource to your website?
If you have or know about a good financial education resource, please check out the Jump$tart Clearinghouse to see if we already have it listed. If not, you can submit it for review using the online form. Thanks for your contribution to the financial literacy effort!
Where do you post career opportunities?
Jump$tart and the Check Your School campaign are operated by very small teams. Since job openings are rather infrequent, Jump$tart does not maintain a job posting site. If opportunities were to become available, we would share them through Facebook, Twitter, and/or LinkedIn.
As a parent, grandparent, guardian, etc., how do I teach my own kids about money management at home?
The Jump$tart Clearinghouse has many good resources that are well suited for use at home with kids of any age—and for yourself as an adult consumer. Also, many of the tips shared on our monthly Facebook Live are designed for family use. Keep money conversations open and honest and always start by setting a good example.
