EECU Partners with Wonderful College Prep Academy GEAR UP to Expand Financial Education

This long-term partnership will allow EECU to bring its award-winning Wise Up financial education curriculum to students via the GEAR UP program housed across three school districts, which include Wonderful College Prep Academy (WCPA), Reef-Sunset Unified School District, and Sanger Unified School District. GEAR UP’s mission is to educate students and families on college and career readiness, including facilitating college and financial literacy workshops for both students and families.

“Through the GEAR UP Central Valley program run by WCPA, we have a unique opportunity to explore partnerships with community-based organizations and local businesses to expand college, career access, and readiness initiatives,” said WCPA GEAR UP Director Dr. Stephanie Hartfield. “Local organizations, like EECU, are already doing great work by offering free educational workshops to students and families, and that is where GEAR UP serves as a bridge to increase access to critical educational resources among our local communities.

Through this partnership, EECU’s skilled financial educators have already hosted dozens of interactive workshops for students ranging in age from second grade to high school seniors and their parents.

“Our Wise Up curriculum really engages students and allows them to learn about managing money by making real-world financial decisions and seeing the outcome,” said EECU Member Education Director Noemi Valenzuela. “We’re excited to be able to reach even more students in need of this financial education through our partnership with the Wonderful College Prep Academy GEAR UP program.”

Wonderful College Prep Academy is a free public charter school with two locations in Delano and Lost Hills, serving 2,400 students from TK to 12th grade. GEAR UP Central Valley is a federally-funded program focused on increasing access to higher education among students, providing academic resources and services to more than 1,700 ninth and tenth grade students in the region.

EECU offers a wide variety of financial wellness workshops for students and adults of all ages. To learn more about these exciting and educational training programs, visit myEECU.org.