CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. – Middle school students from across Jefferson County participated in a hands-on learning experience this week, thanks to a program by the Office of West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore.
Hundreds of eighth-grade students from Charles Town, Harpers Ferry, Shepherdstown, and Wildwood Middle Schools participated in the award-winning financial education activity, Get a Life. Get a Life is an interactive simulation designed for the State Treasurer’s Office to promote economic literacy. Students are given a realistic family budget and must then visit various business stations and manage an expense ledger. The program teaches both basic math skills and problem-solving techniques.
“Programs like Get a Life help to prepare our students to live and succeed in the real world by presenting them with realistic budgeting challenges,” Treasurer Moore said. “We need to do more to ensure our children are ready to handle the financial challenges they will face later in life. Giving this experience early on will help plant the seed for them to be more successful as adults.”
Community volunteers from local businesses helped complete the learning experience by serving as salespeople, insurance agents, and doctors in the simulated world.
“My office is pleased to work with Jefferson County Schools and local business leaders to provide this meaningful educational opportunity to our kids,” Treasurer Moore said.
For more information on Get a Life and other educational resources available through the West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office, visit WVTreasury.com.