IMPACT

REPORT
(2013-2014)

Partner

El Cerrito High School

Impact report (2013-2014)

CA$H FLOW (Financial Literacy Outreach Workshop) aims to address the
problem of low financial literacy by bringing personal finance classes to high
schools. Through these classes, high school students will 1) become better
equipped to make informed financial decisions throughout their lifetime 2) be
encouraged to share their financial empowerment with their peers and
families. Our objective is to focus on helping students identify long-term
financial goals and ways to best achieve them. We hope to show the students
that the costs of college should not deter them from seeking higher education
and that there are various post-secondary options besides four-year
institutions. Our program will be unique in the peer-to-peer coaching and
gamification aspects we emphasize in our curriculum. These measures will not
only create a more encouraging environment for students to learn in, but will
also help ensure the retention of our program.

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Impact report (2013-2014)

Impact report (2013-2014)

E L C E R R I T O H I G H S C H O O L

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The primary goal of CA$HFLOWs pilot program with El Cerrito High is to increase the
opportunity for students to be exposed to topics that are not traditionally taught in American high
schools, and to make students college-ready with a fun and tailored curriculum. The underlying
assumption is that by providing workshops on financial knowledge in small classroom settings,
students would have an intimate space in which they develop good habits, discover their
purposes, and realize their potential. The individualized curriculum and experienced instructors
all serve to help the students to become better problem solvers and critical thinkers. CA$HFLOW
was established in 2012 with a group of UC Berkeley students passionate about education. Since
then, CA$HFLOW has completed a weeklong intensive Summer Bridge program at El Cerrito
High in 2012 and administered a semester long workshop series at various venues.

ABOUT THE IMPACT REPORT

This impact report focuses on the impact of the CA$HFLOW program on El Cerrito High School
students that were enrolled in the program from 2013-2014. It aims to address two questions:
1. Are students that have gone through CA$HFLOW program more prepared for their
transition into college?
2. Does the impact of CA$HFLOW program transfer into better performance in their high
school curriculum?
To answer these questions, we utilized pre and post surveys and relied on active feedbacks we got
from the students, taking advantage of the small classroom setting to prompt discussions that
would improve the program and help CA$HFLOW work better with educational institutions.
The primary student outcome for this program were confidence on their financial well-being and
stronger knowledge on the college preparation process (especially in college financing). We will
also be tracking their academic success and personal development in the next few years.

SUMMARY
CA$HFLOW aims to provide a small classroom setting with our rigorous curriculum, this has
resulted in small sample size. Although the findings from the pilot program are applicable only to

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Impact report (2013-2014)

a handful of students included in the sample, they provide strong evidence for the positive impact
of CA$HFLOW on high school students. Enrollees have a better grasp of their future and
financial planning, and are more likely than their peers to want to enroll in college and complete
it. Their early exposure to financial topics may translate to them accruing less educational debt,
having higher lifetime earnings and being financially independent early in life. In addition,
CA$HFLOW can potentially mitigate the traditional educational attainment gaps between
advantaged and disadvantaged students.
Furthermore, our program has helped open dialogues between students and parents by providing
students with material and information that they can share with their families. We provided
students with information about applications and financial aid in one session, so that they started
exploring tuition options months before FAFSA is due and be better at equipped with making
informed decisions. Our first class on budgeting involved bringing a budget planning worksheet
back to their household to spark potential conversations on better financial planning.

Program Details
IDENTIFYING STUDENTS

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Impact report (2013-2014)

Spring 2013 (April-May)

The CA$HFLOW team identified El Cerrito High School (ECHS) as an ideal location for the
peer-to-peer workshop pilot program, and proceeded to establish formal relationships with the
principal, counselor, and various teachers at the school. We recruited our initial class of peer
coaches through in-class presentations, lunchtime presentation, school radio announcements, and
from teacher referrals.

SUMMER BRIDGE

Summer Bridge started on August 10th, 2013 and was a ,ive days intensive training program of
CASHFLOW that held place in El Cerrito High. At the end of the course, they can choose to take a
comprehensive exam and become certi2ied CASHFLOW Financial Literacy Student Instructors.
They then would go on to teach their peers. Students received individual attention from the
instructors and learned effectively in a smaller class room setting.
Curriculum:
INTRODUCTION
Expectations for & of the class
Who are we? Why are we here?
Outreach
o CASHFLOW Student Bridge Programs
o Peer-to-Peer teaching model
o Berkeley Student Organization
o Partnerships
What is financial literacy? Why is it important?
BUDGETING
What is budgeting? Why budget?
Time Budgeting provide schedules
Shift into budgeting of money income & expenses provide sample sheets for practice
o Familiarize with basic accounting terms: assets & liabilities
o Example of assets & liabilities bank sheet
Typical college expenses: rent, food, transportation, fun
Finding part-time jobs/internships during school year
College tuition paying for college
SCHOLARSHIPS & FINANCIAL AID

Student Loans (private & public)
o How it works
o How to pay back
o A way to build credit

Scholarships
o UC Berkeley
Leadership Awards
Regional Scholar
o UC Davis
o UC Merced

Financial Aid
o UC system & CSU system & Community college system
o Transfer from CC into UC in junior year
o How the system works
o Application process
BANKS & FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE

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Impact report (2013-2014)

o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Debit vs. Credit

Checking vs. Savings accounts
Student accounts
Banks vs. Credit Unions
Checks writing checks
Credit Score
Life after high school

LEADERSHIP & PUBLIC SPEAKING

o What is leadership?
o How to be a leader?
o Leader vs. follower
o What kind of leader are you? Leadership color test
o Effective public speaking strategies
o Practice with leading groups & public speaking
MISCELLANEOUS
o For profit universities
o Extreme Couponing

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Impact report (2013-2014)

SAMPLE QUESTIONARE

Name

What do you know

about financial
literacy?

Why do you want to participate in the summer

bridge program?

Sara
Inphachack

I heard from a
presentation at my high
school that financial
literacy teaches
students about credit,
credit cards, budgeting,
and more.

I want to participate in the summer bridge program because even after

all the information about financial aid that I've recieved at school, I feel
that I still don't know anything about budgeting or about paying bills. I
also am interested in finding more about what the program has to offer
to students.

Yoseph
Alkahli

Whitney
Ounniyom

Financial Aid
Scholarships
To be honest, I do not know
much about financial
literacy. I always thought it
was about money
management during college.
I was hoping by joining this
program I would learn what I
should about financial
literacy.

Ali Alkaheli

I know that it has to deal with

money.

Noelle
Kobayashi

Students from UCB came an

talk to us about it in class
I know that it has to do with
managing money
I don't really know about it,
but from the signups during
school it will be about
money, how to save it and
how to handle it during the
future, so I am guessing that
is what financial literacy will
be about.
Balancing a checkbook
The difference between a
credit card and a debit card
Interest rates

Anthony
Gutierrez

It helps you and educates

you on how you can save
money.

Sana khan
Oscar Aguilar

Mengel
Comandao

To know more about how those work and what I'll need to do for me to
save money and how to do college applications and much more.

I don't have any knowledge about financial literacy, let alone college.
This program seems like a interesting opportunity for me to gain more
knowledge and experience. This will help me to be prepared for the
transition from high school to college, where I should be financially
knowledgeable and responsible.
That it teaches you about colleges and help you how to save money so
in the future when your alone you'll know what to do.
Because it would help me understand Econ and help me teach others
an it seems fun
To learn how to manage my money for when i have a job

It would be good to learn about all the different ways to save money, I
was very interested to learn that there will be speakers from Cal coming
over to speak to us, plus these work shops will be really helpful in my
future. I plan to learn how to save money especially since I am going
into college soon, learning ways to save money would help a lot.

I want to learn more about financial literacy.

I want to know what things I could do to be smarter with my money.
Also, I'm an upcoming senior, and with college around the corner I want
to be able to know how to spend my wisely because I know college isn't

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Impact report (2013-2014)

cheap.

Maggie Li

I don't know.

I want to get more experiences.

PROGRAM ACCESSMENT
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

How con'ident do you feel of your knowledge about banking, credit and debit cards?
How con'ident do you feel of your knowledge about the different types of loans?
How con'ident do you feel about your 'inancial future outside of high school?
How con'ident do you feel about having control of your 'inancial future?
How con'ident do you feel in your leadership and public speaking skills?
How con'ident do you feel about controlling your 'inancial future when in college and
the %inancial aid knowledge that you will need to know?

Pre-Program Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6 TOTAL
Student A
3
2.5
2
2
2
2.5
14
Student B
3
2
4
3
2
3
17
Student C
2
2
3
4
5
3
19
Student D
2
1
3
3
4
4
17
Student E
2
3
4
4
3
3
19
Student F
3
1
1
2
2
3
12
Student G
2
3
3
3
3
3
17
Student H
2
1
1
1
2
2
9
Student I
3
2
2
3
3
4
17
TOTAL
19
15.5
21
22
23
23.5
124

Post-Program Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5 Question 6 TOTAL
Student A
5
5
4
4
5
5
28
Student B
4
3
4
4
3
4
22
Student C
4
3.5
3
3
2.5
3.5
19.5
Student D
5
3
4
5
5
5
27
Student E
4
4
5
4
5
5
27
Student F
4
3
4
4
2
4
21
Student G
4
5
4
4
4
4
25
Student H
4
3
4
4
2
3
20
TOTAL
34
29.5
32
32
28.5
33.5 189.5

*Student I was absent for post-program survey



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Impact report (2013-2014)

Semester Long Pilot Program in 2013

The pilot program in 2013 was to further consolidate the knowledge learned in Summer Bridge
and recruit more interested students. The topics of the pilot program are generated by the
students and for the students. A questionnaire is emailed out before class, and the interested
topic will be taught during the class. The classes were both held in El Cerrito High as well as UC
Berkeley Campus.
Exhibit A. CA$HFLOW IMPACT REPORT CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Session 1. Banking, credit/debit, budgeting, saving, credit report/credit score

Where can we get our credit report/score? What is the difference between big and small
banks?
Session 2. Ways to finance education, FAFSA, scholarships, student loans
We didnt know there was a deadline for FASFA Where can we get information on
scholarships?

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Impact report (2013-2014)

Session 3. Insurance - Health, Auto, Home, Life

Why should I care about health insurance? I want to buy a car, what should I look out for?
Exhibit B. See CA$HFLOW Student Binder

It was great meeting up with those from CA$HFLOW who gave us an

opportunity to learn about .inancial literacy. I was excited to come together
as a class again and learn more about what we were introduced to such as
banking, scholarships, and time management. The resources and
information given was really insightful and I, now, feel more inspired about
working hard for college as well as coming to the meetings and trying to get
fellow students to participate as well. -Whitney

STUDENT OPEN ENDED-SURVEY RESPONSES

Mengel (1st year community college)
Sara (1st year community college)
Sana (12th grade)
Yoseph (12th grade)
Carol (11th grade)

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Impact report (2013-2014)

1. What did you expect to learn from the program?

Mengel: To learn and take classes from CA$H FLOW was interesting and I expected drilling
lessons about +inance and insurance but they took individual time for different subjects, so it
was interesting.
Sara: I expected to learn more about banking and about taxes because I was going to open a
bank account at the time.
Yoseph: I expected to learn about how to prepare for college and the different types of loans.
Sana: I expected learn from this program about how to manage my banking and expenses when
Im older.
Carol: I expect to learn how to save money and work with a bank better. I also want this to help
me with future decisions even after college.
2. Did we meet your expectations? How?
Mengel: Yes, my expectations were met because I got a good grab of knowledge about a range of
topics.
Sara: I did learn a lot about banking and am managing my *inances well because of the info.
Yoseph: Yes, because I learned a lot about how to get ready for college and the different types of

loans in college.
Sana: Yes, I learned about banking and the different types of banks and how to save up.
3. How can we improve?
Mengel: We can go over more on taxes and controlling bills with credit and debit. And also, to
!ind a rom to talk in but walking around UC Berkeley is always fun with the group.
As a &irst year student in college, each CA$H FLOW meeting provided valuable information and
gave me a better idea of how to continue my road into college without any worries with my
!inances. CA$H FLOW has also helped me better understand money especially by answering any
complicated questions my peers and I ever had about credit/debit, 4inancial aid, scholarships,
paying bills, and the future. I wish more people, not only students but adults too, would know
about CA$H FLOW so that they can learn this valuable knowledge that we are learning. I hope
CA$H FLOW can continue well into the future to give more people a sense of how to take on the
world by managing their money in smarter ways.
Sara: I wanted to learn more about taxes since its tax and FAFSA season.
Yoseph: More guest speakers.
Sana: More guest speakers.

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Impact report (2013-2014)

PROGRAM ACCESSMENT
We are trying to track pre- and post-program levels of personal finance knowledge, how the
program has affected students behavior with money, and how the students overall relationship
with money has developed due to the program. In addition, we would like to examine whether or
not financial literacy workshops targeted towards students have the ability to affect the financial
engagement of a family as a whole.


SAMPLE ACCESSMENT SURVEY

Objective: Identify long-term financial goals

Indicators:
-I feel that I can manage my financial future
-I will not be in any debt in ten years
-I have confidence that I will be financially independent for myself in ten years
-I have concrete plans on how to I want to spend the money I saved
-My parents and I are in conversation about my finances as well as theirs
Objective: Identify ways to best achieve them
Indicators:
-I have made a switch from spending on discretionary items to necessary items
-I keep track of the numbers of times my bank account is overdrawn
-I have a budget sheet to keep track of my spending and savings
-I know how to research for resources that can assist me in my financial decision-making
Objective: Cost of college is not going to deter from seeking higher education
Indicators:
-I believe that financial difficulty is not a factor of me not attending college
-I know how to budget for higher education
-I understand the benefits and costs associated with financial aid and scholarship
-I believe that I will be able to avoid education debt
Objective: Students can make informed financial decisions
Indicators:
-I understand banking options
-I understand basic financial terms
-I can pass on what I know about personal finances to my peers and families
-I feel that I know enough knowledge to make my own decisions on big financial purchases

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Impact report (2013-2014)

CONCLUSION
Our goal for the impact report is to access the degree to which CA$HFLOW improved student
outcomes. The pre and post survey statistics from Summer Bridge suggested the programs
signi%icant positive impact on each of the students in all impact areas. Two of the students went
on to become enrollees in the semester long program.
Students that have gone through CA$HFLOW program are more equipped to make informed
decision about attending college. At this point we are unable to access the impact of CA$HFLOW
program and its correlation with high school performance, however, in open-ended survey
responses, students commented on the value of 0inancial knowledge that is not traditionally
offered at school and the importance of college preparation. As a whole, the impact report
illustrated that CA$HFLOW had a positive and meaningful impact on the students future
outcomes.

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