MetLife Foundation Awards $350,000 for NFTE Entrepreneurship Program Aimed at Middle School Students.

NEW YORK -- The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) today announced that it has received a two-year $350,000 grant from MetLife Foundation to develop an entrepreneurship education program for middle school students.

The grant will fund a two-phase development and rollout of a middle school curriculum. In year one of the grant, NTE will develop the curriculum and pilot it in New York City public schools in low-income neighborhoods. The following year, the program will be expanded in New York City and rolled out to another NFTE location in the United States.

The program is a timely one, given President Obama's recent challenge to the nation's policy leaders to teach young Americans to think like entrepreneurs. According to the President, standards are needed that don't just measure "whether students can fill in a bubble on a test, but whether they possess 21st century skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, entrepreneurship, and creativity." The Middle School project will enable NFTE to create a pathway that will lead to success in middle school and high school, followed by higher education pursuits, employment or starting a business.

"Middle school is a critical time in the development of young people," said Dennis White, President & CEO of MetLife Foundation. "We are pleased to partner with NFTE in expanding its proven entrepreneurship education and financial literacy program to middle school, which will help young people develop the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in school, the workplace, and life."

"Partners like MetLife Foundation are so important to the success of our programs," said Amy Rosen, President & CEO of NFTE. "This grant will allow us to strengthen and grow our middle school programs on a national level at a time when the need for our young people to learn about the business world is more important than ever."

About MetLife Foundation

MetLife Foundation was established by MetLife in 1976 to carry on its longstanding tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. Grants support health, education, civic and cultural programs. In youth development, the Foundation funds initiatives that increase financial literacy, promote mentoring and provide constructive activities and safe places for young people, particularly during out-of-school time. For more information about the Foundation, visit www.metlife.org.

About NFTE

The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship is a registered 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, whose mission is to teach entrepreneurship to young people from low-income communities to enhance their productivity by improving their business, academic, and life skills. Since 1987, NFTE has reached more than 230,000 young people and has an active corps of more than 1,300 Certified Entrepreneurship Teachers. Currently, NFTE has programs in 22 states and 12 countries. For more information, visit www.nfte.com.