BY DALE LIESCH/STAFF WRITER

dale.liesch@tidewaternews.com

FRANKLIN—A new web-based financial program has been added to the Franklin High School curriculum with a kickoff Wednesday.

The program, which is at no cost to the school system, is developed by Everfi and paid for by Suntrust Bank.

“The My Money, My Future” program is a six-hour course that will be integrated this year through a unit the school’s government classes for juniors and seniors, said teacher Colleen Monn.

The program will be a stand-alone class next year.

The platform covers more than 600 topics including credit scores, budgeting, insurance, credit cards, student loans, mortgages, taxes, stocks, savings, 401Ks and other critical financial concepts.

“The skills they are going to learn are critical,” said SunTrust Bank Senior Vice President Lynn Powell. “They are skills they will use for the rest of their lives.”

Powell said the platform, by teaching these skills, is designed to help make the students more successful financially, which would help them become better citizens.

“It’s a win-win situation,” Powell said.

SunTrust, the local sponsor, as well as the statewide Genworth Foundation is paying for the program for three years, said Everfi Schools Manager Katie Hughes.

“In today’s competitive world I think financial literacy ranks up there with reading, writing and math literacy,” Franklin School Board Chairman Bill Scarboro told students Wednesday at an assembly to introduce the program. “This knowledge you have the opportunity to gain will help you plan for the future.”

Other speakers at the assembly included Franklin Mayor Jim Councill, FHS Principal Rodney Berry and Franklin Superintendent Michelle Belle.