Financial Literacy
Financial Literacy and lessons around economics are infused with our core curriculum to get children to think critically about finance and the innovation through entrepreneurship.
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Entrepreneurship
Children will tap into the innovative energy that they have and learn how to create opportunities as entrepreneurs. Children will learn to solve problems and learn to create businesses and learn how to sell.
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School Culture
Our curriculum meets MSDE and Common Core Standards. Children will receive a transformative education infused with concepts in finance.
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About BEAM
The Business and Economics Academy of Maryland (BEAM)
The Center for Finance, Investment and Entrepreneurship, Inc., (CFIE), is a Maryland non-profit organization that seeks to open The Business and Economics Academy of Maryland,(BEAM), beginning in the 2022-2023 school year. BEAM will be the first private school in the state of Maryland and one of only a few in the country to offer a Pre-K through 8th grade education with a Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship focus.
Our mission is to deliver a transformative education to the children and families in Maryland and teach them to become financially stable through saving, investing and entrepreneurship. We all understand the circumstances that created these conditions. We need to understand that although we can not change the past, we must do all we can to create a better future. That's why we decided to create BEAM
The founders of BEAM are seasoned educators, entrepreneurs, non-profit professionals, financial services professional, community activists, civic leaders and parents who have a passion for the cultural and economic development of the City of Baltimore and the economic empowerment of its residents. The Maryland communities that this school will target have experienced significant economic stagnation, which has impacted health, education and financial deficits and other related disparities. Unemployment rates for Maryland residents in these communities are disproportionately high and many residents have lost hope of ever finding employment that can provide a livable wage.
MISSON & VISION
The vision of BEAM is create a city of thriving urban neighborhoods, free of generational poverty.
BEAM’s mission is to deliver a transformative education to the children and families in Baltimore City and teach them to become financially stable through saving, investing and entrepreneurship. BEAM will provide Maryland students with a financial literacy and entrepreneurship-infused education that equips them with the academic, creative and social skills necessary to succeed in higher education, professional careers, and in life as professionals in business and as community leaders.
BEAM will offer a rigorous, project-based educational model, which will be infused with financial literacy and entrepreneurship concepts as early as the Kindergarten year. The academic program will focus on early literacy, early learning and social skills as a preparation for our K-8th grade program.
FINANCE
WHAT IS FINANCIAL LITERACY?
Financial literacy is the ability to use knowledge and skills to make effective and informed money management decisions. Personal financial literacy encompasses a range of money topics, from everyday skills such as balancing a checkbook to long-term planning for retirement. While literacy - the ability to read and write - is a fundamental part of the education system, financial literacy is often left out of the equation. In the United States, fewer than half of states have any financial literacy requirements for their K-12 education systems, and only four states require high school students to take personal finance classes.
While there is a movement to include more finance-related coursework in elementary, middle and high school settings, parents and guardians are the primary educators when it comes to teaching children the skills they need to develop a strong foundation for life-long financial competence.
Source: http://www.investopedia.com/university/teaching-financial-literacy-kids/
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Why Entrepreneurship?
In the new global economy, the jobs that exist now might not exist by the time today's students enter the workplace. To succeed in this ever-changing world, students need to be able to think like entrepreneurs: resourceful, flexible, creative, and global, according to Researcher and Professor Yong Zhao. The entrepreneurial mindset treats life's hurdles as challenges to overcome, and fostering these skills early on will pay dividends in the years to come. If a child can master a foreign language by getting an early in elementary school, then they can master lessons in entrepreneurship as well.
Board of
Directors
Serving our CHILDREN is what matters most!
The founding group of BEAM believe that Baltimore families will enthusiastically embrace and support a school program that offers an alternative view of the future. A view filled with prosperity and opportunity.
CALVIN WATKINS, JR.
CHAIR & FOUNDER
Calvin is a seasoned entrepreneur and has extensive experience working with charter schools providing public relations and marketing services through his firm, Chosen Media, Inc. and Charter School PR.
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Research and Testimonials
Critical decisions -- from financing higher education to saving for retirement -- can have lasting consequences for individuals and for our country's economy. Financial literacy enables people of all ages to make smart choices and set goals to protect their hard-earned income. And increasing individuals' understanding of debt, including mortgages and credit cards, helps guarantee every person receives equal treatment and is able to secure lasting opportunity. By strengthening the financial capability of all Americans, we are investing in the fundamental promise of a brighter future and building a more prosperous
President Barack Obama, 44th President of The United States
What material success does is provide you with the ability to concentrate on other things that really matter. And that is being able to make a difference, not only in your own life but in other people's lives. The surest way to bring goodness to yourself is to make it your intention to do good for somebody else.
Oprah Winfrey // Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Media Mogul
The world is full of limitations, but the most serious limitations you will ever face will be the ones you place upon yourself."
Reginal F. Lewis // Entrepreneur/President/CEO Beatrice, Inc.
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