LEETONIA, Ohio (WKBN) -- Although it's holiday break time for schools, one teacher remains busy working on a way to teach kids about money -- something that's lacking among students.
Leetonia middle school teacher Lauran Woolley is working on an education software company called Little Tusk that helps preschool through 8th-grade children learn financial literacy through a gamified platform.
Woolley swept the Youngstown Business Incubator's Shark Tank competition with her idea last month and recently she took a big trip to Washington, D.C. recognizing the work she's doing.
"So I'm hoping that that contact will also be helpful in, you know, having Little Tusk become a community to help people learn about financial literacy," Woolley said.
Little Tusk is a web-based platform that uses a mascot named MoMo to teach young students simple concepts about money -- and the student's interest in the subject grows.
"But in a way, it is immersive and has students interact with it in a way that makes learning so engaging and fun that they don't want to stop. It's not a task. It's something they want to do," she said.
Only one in four American students has access to financial literacy education. Woolley teaches her 5th graders at Leetonia using a paper and pencil classroom economy that will be available to teachers soon. The students seem to gravitate toward spending.
"But I make a point to tell them, you know, it's great to have spending money and to be able to purchase the things you've worked hard for but you also need to keep in mind that hidden costs and hidden expenses pop up out of the blue," Woolley said.
Little Tusk is growing and Woolley hopes the exposure from the White House visit will lead to big things and a simpler way to teach children about the simplest principles of money.
"Providing children with the opportunity to be able to learn those things in a kind of risk-free environment is going to help build a foundation for them that they can use throughout their lives," said Woolley.
Ohio law requires high school students to pass a one-half credit class in financial literacy to graduate.