On Monday, June 10, two teachers from the Cache County School District will be inducted into the Utah Financial Education Hall of Fame.
Rick Cox, a sixth-grade teacher at Wellsville Elementary School, was selected as the recipient of the Personal Finance Educator of the Year Award, the highest honor of the five awards presented.
Tracy Jenson of Green Canyon High School will receive the Student Empowerment Award.
According to Brittany Griffin with the Utah Treasurer's Office, the teachers were selected for their work empowering students through financial education.
Griffin said the pair were selected from a field of 75 candidates selected by community members across Utah.
Cox, Jenson and the other award recipients will be honored at the $tart $mart Teacher Summit on June 10.
The summit, hosted by the Utah Jumpstart Coalition, is a day-long professional development training focused on finance and economics education.
A coalition of youth financial education organizations, along with Utah Treasurer Marlo Oaks and the Utah State Board of Education, announced the hall's opening in April.
“The Utah Financial Education Hall of Fame celebrates the unsung heroes who shape the future of young people by empowering them with critical financial knowledge and skills,” Oakes said in an April 4 press release.
Oakes said selected teachers and administrators have made it a priority to help students leave the classroom understanding how money and the economy works.
Cox and Jenson did just that, according to the people who recommended them.
One comment stated that for 20 years, Cox has made education fun, engaging and impactful.
“His classroom financial system is just one part of what he does every day to teach his students valuable lessons that they can use even after they leave the classroom and enter the adult world.”
One of Cox's students commented on the methods Cox uses to teach finance, which he says are modeled on real life, including the jobs students apply for and even salaries in fake money.
The money they earn throughout the year through their work can be spent at the end of year auction.
His brother and fellow teacher, Greg Cox, described him as creative.
“Teachers work hard to make the classroom a fun and engaging place so that students leave with fond memories that they will cherish forever,” Greg said.
Jenson will receive the Student Empowerment Award, which is given to an educator who has “demonstrated an exceptional commitment to helping students take control of their own financial futures.”
The award recognizes educators who not only teach financial concepts but also support students in setting and working toward financial goals.
One of the people who nominated Jenson was Mackenzie Walsh, a former Sky View High School student.
Walsh said Jenson's classes inspired her to pursue a degree in family finance and become a financial counselor.
“Her classroom exercises and activities gave me a sense of what it would be like to be an adult,” Walsh said.
Jenson said she was honoured to receive the award, especially on a topic that is so important to her students.
She said she tries to empower students through hands-on experience, focusing on simple things like budgeting, saving and building credit.
“Learning the basics is important,” Jensen says. “While kids may make simple mistakes that they will regret for the rest of their lives, they can also learn good habits that will help them in adulthood.”
The other three awards presented are the Lifetime Achievement Award, the self-nominated Innovative Personal Finance Curriculum Award and the Administrator Financial Education Champion Award.
