MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif.-Fifteen Los Angeles-area teens recently earned money learning how to save money – and possibly saved themselves from a future of debt and bad financial decisions. The high school students, participants in the National Endowment for Financial Education's High School Financial Planning Program, were recently awarded savings account certificates from Kinecta Federal Credit Union in Manhattan Beach, Calif., after completing the six-unit course. Initiated in 1984 as a public service to educate young people in money management, the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program has been helping California students for three years. Kinecta's involvement with the NEFE program came about in 2001, according to Nancy Tack, vice president of communications. “To help bring the NEFE program into Los Angeles-area schools, Kinecta partnered up with the California Credit Union League (CCUL) and College Bound, an organization that helps young people from underserved areas prepare for college,” Tack said. CCUL is working toward mandated financial education in California and Nevada through its Richard Myles Johnson Foundation. Rita Fillingane, project manager for the CCUL, points out why the program is necessary. “With the recent increase in bankruptcies, we can see that today's adults don't know how to handle their finances,” Fillingane said. “In the past, children have learned finances through their parents. If adults don't fully understand how to handle finances, how can we expect the children to learn? It's critical to teach this information, starting at the elementary school level and finalizing it in the teen years, so they will have a solid foundation and be able to make informed decisions for savings, loans, and credit card debt.” Students are taught how to develop their own spending and savings plan and receive a 128-page workbook filled with practical assignments relevant to a teen's experience. The course, which provides a basic introduction to personal financial planning, includes a pre-test and a post-test to check how much each student has learned. College Bound keeps logs and tracks the students' progress. “The program has been taught in social studies classes, continuation classes, and vocational special education classes-any course with a curriculum geared to preparing students for real life,” Tack said. “Teachers accept the financial planning program because the materials are concept-based and don't sell products or promote a specific financial institution.” College Bound is key in getting the courses into the schools, according to Nancy Dotson, foundation services manager for CCUL. “College Bound has contacts with former principals and educators who have inroads into the school system that we could never have,” she said. “They are responsible for the success of this program.” Kinecta and the Richard Myles Johnson Foundation pick up the costs associated with teaching the courses. The method for selecting the students who will participate is generally at the discretion of each school, according to Tack. However, the materials are designed for all students, emphasized Fillingane. “The program is designed for all teens and all schools. It's just a matter of making the connection between teachers and credit unions to bring materials into classroom,” Fillingane said. “Credit unions have become more involved in financial literacy in the last five years and have really taken hold of the curriculum to get it into the schools and make educators aware of the materials.”