CU Reps Call For Financial Literacy Bill

HOUSTON—Smart Financial Credit Union is urging other credit unions to join it in a program that seeks to help teachers who come to the U.S. from abroad and who are in need of financial assistance. Several representatives of Smart Financial’s business development team have just returned from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico to offer financial assistance to Mexican citizens hoping to become bilingual teachers in the United States. Smart Financial’s International Teacher Program helps educators from Mexico and Spain get settled in the United States by offering up to $3,000 in Signature and/or CreditLine loans. “With the number of Texas students requiring bilingual education at an all-time high, school districts in the state continue to increase their effort to recruit internationally,” the credit union said. “To aid in this endeavor, Smart Financial teamed up with the Region IV International Initiative, a program aimed at recruiting qualified, bilingual teachers from Spanish-speaking countries.” Representatives of Smart Financial recently met with more than 100 teacher candidates who will be eligible for SFCU assistance when they arrive in July. Since launching its program six years ago, the credit union said it has assisted nearly 200 teachers. For info, Melissa Hunt: (800) 392-5084, ext. 1822 or mhunt@smartcu.org.