Lexington-Richland School District Five educator Dr. Elizabeth Magee has been recognized as a Distinguished Educator by the national nonprofit Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) for outstanding commitment to professional development in real-world personal finance topics.
To date, Magee has earned 6 NGPF Certifications, each of which requires 10 hours of live, collaborative coursework on a key personal finance topic and passing a one-hour Certification Exam.
“Personal finance skills are so essential, especially for my students who are transitioning directly from high school to employment,” Magee said. “The professional development courses offered through NGPF have greatly improved my confidence when teaching such an important life skill. Financial literacy lessons have become some of my favorite units to teach because students are engaged, motivated, and excited to learn how to be smart with money. I love helping students learn how to manage their finances, develop savings plans, and to understand compensation and benefits packages for their future jobs. Being recognized as a distinguished educator in this area is an added honor, and further motivates my interest in this field.”
Magee is in her 19th year with School District Five. She started her career as a special education teacher at Irmo Middle School. This is her 9th year as the Project SEARCH instructor.
School District Five, Prisma Health and SC Vocational Rehabilitation have collaborated since 2015 to bring Project SEARCH to teens in the Midlands with special needs. Project SEARCH is a business-led school-to-work transition model with demonstrated success in developing internships for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are in their last year of high school.
“Dr. Magee has used the training she has received with NGPF to provide purposeful and meaningful instruction to her students in Project SEARCH as well as other educators in our district and state,” School District Five Director of Special Services Dr. Angie Slatton said. “She is ensuring that when her students leave School District Five, they have the skills necessary to make educated decisions with the money they earn.”
