Visa honors West Chicago teacher for classroom financial lessons

Candace Fikis, who teaches social studies and economics at West Chicago's Community High School, has been selected as Visa's Practical Money Skills Educator of the month for October.

Fikis is featured in the Practical Money Skills email newsletter sent Oct. 8 to more than 88,000 subscribers.

Fikis is a proponent of simulations, making sure her lessons for high school students incorporate real-life applications of concepts learned.

"I know that so many concepts, especially financial markets, can be difficult to understand at their age," she says. "Simulations provide them with an experience and a foundation that will give them a deeper understanding."

Along with the honor, Visa awarded Fikis a $425 scholarship to cover registration for the 2014 Jump$tart National Educator Conference in Los Angeles, California. The Jump$tart Conference is the only national conference for classroom teachers dedicated to personal finance education in the classroom. Each year, the conference provides educators from preschool through high school with financial education resources, personal and professional development, access to a nationwide network of colleagues, and general support for financial education.