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Nearly 56% of today’s teens are already worried about money, according to the 2024 Wells Fargo Money Study. Wells Fargo research also found that “teenagers look more like today’s adults when it comes to thinking and worrying about money, with more than one in three saying they think about money a lot. In fact, 73% of teens say they sometimes over-focus on how much money they have or don’t have, and nearly all teens (91%) want to learn new ways of thinking about and dealing with their money.” Financial literacy research clearly outlines the urgent need to better equip our youth with reliable money management skills.
The Education Fund’s Teach-A-Thon, presented by Wells Fargo, addresses this gap in financial education for students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS). This initiative brings business professionals into classrooms to share real-world financial knowledge in engaging, age-appropriate ways.
When Hector J. Ponte, Wells Fargo’s South Florida Region Executive and board member of The Education Fund, and his team of local bankers visit classrooms, students practice sorting into save, spend, and share envelopes, which surfaces many thoughtful questions.
“The questions students ask are remarkable—about credit scores, how loans work, and even mortgages,” says Ponte. “As a proud graduate of Miami-Dade County Public Schools myself, and now with two children who are educators in the same system, I’ve witnessed how financial education creates confidence that benefits students forever. These young people are our future neighbors, workforce, and community members. When they understand money management, our entire community thrives.”
Today’s comprehensive approach to financial education includes budgeting, understanding interest, responsible debit and credit card use, and long-term financial planning. According to Wells Fargo’s 2025 Money Survey, 86% of surveyed Americans want to be more intentional and thoughtful about their spending—a goal that begins with a strong financial education.
Since The Education Fund launched the Teach-A-Thon, more than 3,000 business professionals have stood in the shoes of a teacher, impacting more than 85,000 students. In the 2023-24 school year, 1,800+ students received additional STEM and financial literacy lessons. These efforts have raised more than $700,000 for public schools through awareness campaigns highlighting the crucial role teachers play in our community.
M-DCPS teacher Navia Gomez has seen the impact firsthand. “When business professionals visit our classroom through the Teach-A-Thon, they bring financial concepts to life in ways textbooks simply cannot. Students connect classroom learning to real-world applications, and many tell me years later how those lessons helped them make better financial decisions as young adults.”
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