In collaboration with state education agencies, two Oklahoma credit unions, Tulsa Teachers and WEOKIE of Oklahoma City, announced Thursday the launch of “Foolproof Oklahoma” a statewide venture to ramp up quality of financial literacy in all Oklahoma schools.

Some 90 Oklahoma high schools have already signed up in the pilot, perhaps a precursor to a broader nationwide venture as advanced by the Florida-based Foolproof Financial Literacy Initiative.

“This is the first state-wide project in the country to allow teachers to meet 100% of a state's financial literacy requirements using a free, web-driven program,” said FoolProof's founder, Will deHoo.

Foolproof, based in Melbourne, Fla., is sponsored by 15 state trade associations and has produced a literacy curriculum endorsed by both the Consumer Federation of America and the National Association of Consumer Advocates.

“Oklahoma is one of the few states that requires all students to learn financial literacy skills in order to graduate but that requirement didn't come with funding to make the mandate happen,” noted Foolproof in a statement.

Foolproof said its program “provides teachers and administrators an online financial literacy transcript for each student in the state.” Thus, students can be given a printed copy of the transcript or administrators can simply go online and verify the financial literacy requirements passed by any student.

“With less teachers, less time, and more students, how can schools meet unfunded mandates and at the same time provide a quality teaching experience?” asked Brent Taylor, president/CEO of the $796 million WEOKIE in Oklahoma City. “We think FoolProof's high-tech and ethical curriculum can help solve this problem.”

Tim Lyons, president/CEO of the $1 billion Tulsa Teachers asked, “Who wouldn't want to help both teachers and our kids when it comes to financial literacy instruction?” The Foolproof program provides students “the truth about products and services so they can make smart decisions before spending their money.”

Instant Insights /

Two Oklahoma CUs Kick off Statewide Financial Literacy Program

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