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Hudson Senior High School Teacher Laura Bender Earns “Distinguished Educator in Personal Finance” Recognition from Next Gen Personal Finance
May 7, 2024
HUDSON, NY – The Hudson City School District is proud to announce the recent recognition of Hudson Senior High School Social Studies Teacher Laura Bender as a lifetime “Distinguished Educator”, deemed by national non-profit organization, Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF).
“Laura Bender has been recognized as a ‘Distinguished Educator’ by the national non-profit Next Gen Personal Finance (ngpf.org) for outstanding commitment to professional development in real-world personal finance topics,” said officials from NGPF. “To date, Laura 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.”
Bender, who has been an integral part of the District for 11 years, was honored by NGPF after becoming certified in the financial topics of “Advanced Investing”, “Career”, “Credit”, “Investing”, “Paying for College” and “Taxes”.
With her determination to obtain certifications to assist Hudson Senior High School with financial planning and guide them in preparation of becoming college and career ready, Hudson Senior High School Principal Derek Reardon said Bender’s personal efforts are a testament of her character.
“Laura Bender is a hard worker and a great teacher who believes in her students. She really does look into the needs of each student she teaches and finds ways for them to adapt and learn. I wish I had 40 more teachers just like her,” said Reardon. “She took the bull by the horns and went full steam ahead in incorporating financial literacy in the economics curriculum.”
Known for her dedication for providing opportunities and insight to Hudson Senior High School students, Bender, who also serves as the co-advisor for Student Council and the facilitator for the Student Tech Crew with the Instructional Technology Department, said it has been a personal goal of hers to advance her students’ understanding of financial responsibility and accountability.
“Since I started teaching economics in Hudson over a decade ago, it has been my objective to enhance my students’ knowledge of financial literacy. I built my class around this goal, including important topics such as job search skills, banking, budgeting, investing, and building and utilizing credit,” said Bender. “The NGPF certification courses I completed this year have helped me broaden my knowledge in many areas, allowing me to build more robust units in personal finance for the seniors that I teach. It is my goal to eventually complete all of NGPF’s certification offerings so I can continue to offer my students a high-quality education in financial literacy that will prepare them for the real world after graduation.”
Accompanying the title of “Distinguished Educator”, Bender received a physical plaque acknowledging her achievement of possessing a depth of knowledge and commitment to her craft in educating personal finance and an exclusive, personalized badge to be showcased in her email signature.
Click here for more information on the instructors nationwide who received “Distinguished Educator” recognition from NGPF.
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PHOTO: Hudson Senior High School Social Studies Teacher Laura Bender.
For further information, please contact:
Austin Crosier, Communications Technician/Specialist
518-828-4360 ext. 2145
crosiera@hudsoncsd.org