Last Tuesday, Community Spirit Bank today celebrated graduates of the bank’s Financial Scholars Program, a new initiative to bring financial literacy education to local high schools.

In an evening ceremony at Russellville High School, the bank certified nearly 200 students who successfully completed the EverFi Financial Literacy online course.

This web-based program uses the latest in new media technologies – video, animations, 3-D gaming, avatars, and social networking – to bring complex financial concepts to life for today’s digital generation.

Through the EverFi platform, students were taught and assessed in over 600 topics in financial education, allowing them to become more informed, responsible citizens.

Community Spirit Bank has partnered with EverFi, Inc. to bring the interactive financial management program to Russellville High School, as well Belgreen High School, Belmont High School (Miss.), Phil Campbell High School, Red Bay High School, Tharptown High School, and Vina High School.

The 10-unit course offers approximately six hours of programming aimed at teaching, assessing and certifying students in a variety of financial topics including credit scores, insurance, credit cards, student loans, mortgages, taxes, stocks, savings, 401k’s and other critical concepts that map to national financial literacy standards.

The platform uniquely tracks the progress and score of every student and provides students who successfully complete the course with Certification in Financial Literacy, a valuable mark of distinction on college applications and resumes.

“Community Spirit Bank is proud to partner with EverFi and our local school systems to make financial literacy a top priority for senior high students,” said Brad M. Bolton, CEO of Community Spirit Bank.

“We believe the exposure to this program will positively impact each of these students and enable them to have a better understanding of financial issues so they can make better decisions for their lives in the future.”