State Treasurer Curtis Loftis Recognizes Angela Haigler of St. Matthews K-8 School as Educator of the Month

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Feb. 28, 2025) – South Carolina Treasurer Curtis Loftis has recognized Angela Haigler of Calhoun County School District’s St. Matthews K-8 School as the South Carolina Financial Literacy Master Teacher Program’s Educator of the Month for February.

“Personal finance education is an important building block to help young people create the healthy relationship with money they need to make better spending choices throughout their lives,” said Treasurer Loftis. “The South Carolina Financial Literacy Master Teacher Program prepares educators from a variety of disciplines, such as dedicated English teacher Angela Haigler, to incorporate financial literacy in their lesson plans.”

Ms. Haigler earned both a Bachelor of Arts in English Education and a Master of Education with a concentration in English from South Carolina State University. She also holds a number of South Carolina teacher certifications, including Gifted & Talented, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), middle school certification and online education certification. Haigler began her teaching career in 1996 as a middle school teacher at St. Matthews K-8 School. From 2010-2018, she taught English I for the 8^th grade honors program. Her recognition as Educator of the Month is a reflection of her professional commitment to experiential learning, curriculum development, and creative lesson planning.

“Financial literacy is one of many fundamental life skills that unequivocally impact every area of a person’s life,” Haigler said. “If these skills are learned earlier rather than later, this could mean the difference between prosperity and poverty for our future citizens. Students will ideally mature into adulthood with the understanding that money is neither good nor bad, but an instrument by which we meet the basic needs of ourselves and others.”

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 have access to specialized training and financial literacy curriculum resources that 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. Future Scholar is self-supported and does not receive taxpayer funding.