MONTPELIER — Twenty students throughout the state won this year’s prize drawing for the Treasurer’s Office’s "Reading is an Investment" program, including Camren Martin of Franklin Elementary School and Lilyana Little of Highgate Elementary School, according to a release.
“We’re incredibly proud of all our Vermont students who persevered through a challenging year of school closures and distance learning to take part in the Reading is an Investment program,” said Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce. “We’re also grateful to the educators who spotlighted financial education in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many demands competed for classroom time. We’re thrilled so many students completed all the program requirements and built these critical life skills. These lessons build a strong foundation for a lifetime of financial well-being.”
The winners, who are students in kindergarten through sixth grade, completed all steps of the required financial literacy curriculum and were then qualified for a $250 college savings account if their name was drawn.
Now in its 11th year, the “Reading is an Investment” program teaches younger students about managing money by providing educators with specific books, lesson plans and resources teaching financial literacy. The program currently provides 140 schools with the program, which is underwritten by People’s United Bank.
The Treasurer’s Office provides instructional materials for the program, and the monetary awards are provided by the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, according to a release.
