A writer for the San Francisco Chronicle claims, “In a society in which low-skilled jobs account for only 15 percent of total jobs, post-secondary education is the key to staying above the poverty level.”

I recommend reading the full article, an inspirational piece discussing how schools, parents and communities can work closely together (and need to) in order to close the opportunity gap for young adults.

It's summertime and your students are probably on the road a lot more—driving to work, to the beach, or to pick up friends. Help prepare them to be responsible drivers with this month’s brass|BONUS article titled, "Got It Covered? A Crash Course in Car Insurance.” Accompanying this article is the lesson plan “Can You Afford to Drive?” which guides your students through a simulation in buying car insurance.

I'm proud to announce the debut of the newly updated brass|STUDENT PROGRAM websites. All sites, including the Student Resource Center, the Student Program Home Page, The Teacher Resource Center and the Student Program Sponsor Site have been given a fresh new look. You'll notice that each new site incorporates some new features such as video.

These updates are the result of the New York Credit Union Foundation and Wisconsin Credit Union League's receipt of the National Credit Union Foundation Innovation Grant. The goal of the grant project is to expand and enhance the offerings of the brass|STUDENT PROGRAM.

This video, created by a class at Kansas State University, brings up the following questions: Are we reaching our students? Are we creating an experience for them to learn from? Do we challenge them and help them make the most out of their education? After watching it, my question is: What can we change? Check it out.

Most of us love to be online. Especially teenagers. Between video gaming, shopping, catching up on news or socializing, more and more teens opt to do these things in a digital world. But how do they feel about reading books in a digital format? As a teacher, should you direct your students to read more online? Well, a recent study claims the opposite is true, and that 75% of kids ages 5-17, agree that "No matter what I can do online, I'll always want to read books printed on paper.” Read the rest of the
article to see what young adults are saying…

A special thank you to 'taylorb' for submitting two lesson plans (a budgeting simulation and a brainstorming activity to help students determine what they want out of life) to the TRC.

This is not only a great way to share ideas with teachers across the nation, it's a way to build community among educators.

Many of your students will find summer employment delivering pizza, lifeguarding or working retail jobs. Meanwhile, there is a growing business for young entrepreneurs on the web. Check out this article in The Wall Street Journal, about young adults making big money selling virtual goods and services on sites like Second Life and Entropia Universe.

brass|MEDIA has officially debuted a new website called Sharebrass.com. This site is dedicated to keeping our readers and fans up to speed with current projects underway at brass|MEDIA. An exciting project in the works is brass|TV, a magazine-style TV show about young adults, money and real world stuff™. Check out the trailer!

Sharebrass.com will house episodes of this show until it gets picked up by a major TV network. If you would like to see brass get some TV exposure on Ellen or Oprah, click on our Action Center at Sharebrass.com. The more people that help spread the word, the faster brass can reach every school and young adult nationwide!