State Treasurer Curtis Loftis recognizes Tamie Betsill of Wando High School as Educator of the Month

May 20, 2022

South Carolina Treasurer Curtis Loftis has recognized Tamie Betsill of Charleston County School District’s Wando High School as the South Carolina Financial Literacy Master Teacher Program’s Educator of the Month for May.

“One of the strengths of the Financial Literacy Master Teacher Program is its emphasis on increasing educator confidence in teaching personal finance,” said State Treasurer Curtis Loftis. “Extraordinary educators like Tamie Betsill are leveraging their expertise not only to help students learn smart money habits but also to help peer teachers understand how to incorporate these lessons in their own classrooms.”

Betsill has taught social studies at Wando High School since 2013. She currently teaches AP Microeconomics and AP Macroeconomics and serves as the school’s Econ Challenge Team coach. Under her guidance, students on the Econ Challenge Team achieved first place team finishes at the SC Economics Challenge annually from 2015 to 2021. Betsill was previously recognized for her efforts in championing financial education. In 2018, she was named the SC Economics Outstanding Teacher of the Year and nominated for the John Morton Excellence Award, a national award honoring teachers whose exemplary teaching techniques help improve their students’ economic understanding. Prior to joining Wando, Betsill taught government and economics at Union Grove High School in Georgia for eight years. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University and received her Certificate in Middle School & High School Broad Field Social Studies from Mercer University.

“Life is a perpetual series of choices, and one can only make the best choices by being equipped with the best knowledge and information,” said Betsill. “If we, as educators, can teach financial literacy and important money management skills to young people, then they can go out into the world better prepared to take care of themselves by making smart choices.”

The South Carolina Financial Literacy Master Teacher Program provides incentives to K-12 teachers who are experts in the area of financial literacy and have a desire to teach professional development workshops to other educators in their schools and districts. Through the program, participating teachers will have access to specialized training and financial literacy curriculum resources that will better enable them to promote financial literacy education in K-12 schools.

Sponsored by Future Scholar, South Carolina’s 529 College Savings Plan, and in partnership with SC Economics, this statewide financial literacy initiative aims to increase teacher support and involvement in incorporating personal finance education into the curriculum.

 

About Future Scholar

Future Scholar, South Carolina’s 529 College Savings Plan, is administered through the State Treasurer’s Office. For more information, visit FutureScholar.com or follow @SCStateTreasurer on Facebook. No state funds are used to market Future Scholar or the SC Financial Literacy Master Teacher Program.