MADISON—The award-winning financial education program Biz Kid$ is coming back for a sixth season.
This new season is comprised of six episodes that focus on teaching young adults personal finance and entrepreneurship.
Produced by the creative team behind "Bill Nye the Science Guy," Biz Kid$ takes a “fun approach to financial literacy with comic sketches and antics that appeal to kids from late elementary through high school,” according to its producers. The series, which is overseen by the National Credit Union Foundation, is hosted by a group of young people, the series teaches the importance of giving back to the community and the basics of smart money management based on national financial literacy educational standards.
According to CUNA, the new season’s episodes tap into timely topics of personal finance and entrepreneurship, including weighing the costs of a college education, turning $100 into $1,000,000, and attempting to answer the timeless question, “Can money buy happiness?”
Celebrity guests include Monique Coleman from "High School Musical.”
Biz Kid$ is funded with more than $15 million by a coalition of credit unions and affiliates. Each of the 71 Biz Kid$ episodes begins and ends with a narrator reminding viewers that, “Production funding for Biz Kid$ is provided by America’s Credit Unions, where people are worth more than money.”
“Biz Kid$ exists because of credit unions who believe in the importance of financially educating our youth,” said Gigi Hyland, Foundation executive director, in a statement. “Season 6 showcases all new young entrepreneurs who share their stores to inspire other kids to become money savvy Biz Kid$ of their own, and we hope credit unions continue to utilize this amazing program to improve the financial futures of the next generation.”
According to the Foundation, it has distributed Biz Kid$ Financial Education Grants to fund related projects since 2013, and through these outreach projects Biz Kid$ has reached 10.8 million parents, educators, and students, CUNA said.
Since 2008, the series has reached more than 77.1 million viewers, airing on more than 212 commercial television stations, including 52 episodes that air on the American Forces Network worldwide on military bases, the Foundation said.
In addition to its national show, Biz Kid$ produces content for teachers and teens on its website, BizKids.com.