Program helps eighth graders become savvy money managers

OVetta Wiggins:

Fernandez and Lee are among 14,000 eighth-grade students in the Washington region each year who spend a day of school visiting the finance park, making real-life decisions about health care, housing, investments and banking. Most of the students who participate — 13,000 — are from Fairfax County, with the rest coming from Alexandria, Arlington, the District and Prince George’s County.
The students attend the finance park, which sits on the campus of Robert Frost Middle School and W.T. Woodson High School, after spending five weeks learning about interest and credit; the risks and benefits of saving and investing; the difference between gross and net monthly income and other aspects of financial literacy during math and social studies classes.