American investors are increasingly seeking investment choices that complement their environmental and social consciences. According to the latest Report on Sustainable and Responsible Investing Trends in the United States, U.S. investments in funds that favor environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria grew to $3.3 trillion in 2011, an increase of nearly 30 percent from 2009.

Families saving for college can incorporate this focus into their college savings investing approach through the Socially Targeted Investment Portfolio offered by Virginia529 College Savings Plan (Virginia529). An option in the Virginia529 inVEST program, the portfolio currently invests exclusively in the Parnassus Equity Income Fund (symbol PRILX). Parnassus Investments, the investment management company responsible for the Fund, seeks to invest in businesses with sustainable competitive advantages that also respect the environment, have quality management teams and have ethical business practices.

Head on over to Virginia529.com to learn more about this socially responsible option which returned 20.83 percent for the one-year period ending March 31, 2013 and a three-year return of 11.92 percent.  Also, keep up with cool options like this and stay in the know about the most recent college savings news and trends by following Virginia529 on Facebook and Twitter too!

VA529 is an advertiser on Richmondmom.com

And why is algebra such a big deal anyway? Will kids ever need that knowledge and training?

Absolutely and the Tutoring Club can explain why. The article below was written by the Tutoring Club to help kids and adults understand the value of learning algebra today for success tomorrow!

Why Algebra?

Algebra is the “gatekeeper” that lets people into rewarding careers — and keeps others out.  It is used by photographers, architects, upholsterers and just about everyone in a high-tech career. It is simply a civil right, says Robert Moses, a veteran of the civil rights movement.

Basic algebra is the first in a sequence of higher-level math classes that students need to succeed. Because many students fail to get a solid math foundation, an alarming number of them are graduating from high school unprepared for either college or work. Many are taking remedial math in college, which makes getting a degree a longer, costlier process than it is for their more prepared classmates. And it means they’re less likely to complete a college-level math course. For middle school students and their parents, the message is clear: It’s easier to learn the math now than to try to relearn it later.

What Makes Algebra So Important?

The first year of algebra is the prerequisite for all higher level math: geometry, algebra II, trigonometry and calculus. According to a study by the ACT, students who take algebra I, geometry, algebra II and one additional high-level math course are much more likely to succeed in college math.

Algebra is not just for the college-bound. Students headed straight from high school to the work force will need the same math skills as college freshmen, the ACT found. This ACT study looked at occupations that don’t require a college degree but pay wages high enough to support a family of four. Researchers found that math and reading skill levels required to work as an electrician, plumber or upholsterer were comparable to those needed to succeed in college.

Algebra is, in short, the gateway to success in the 21st century.

What’s more, your child develops abstract reasoning when he makes the transition from concrete arithmetic to the symbolic language of algebra. That helps him become an abstract thinker, a benefit that will carry over into his study of other subjects.

When Should Your Child Take Algebra?

Students typically take algebra in the eighth grade. The benefit of starting the sequence of high-level math classes in eighth grade is that if your child takes the PSAT as a high school sophomore, she will have completed geometry. By the time she’s ready to take the SAT or ACT as a high school junior, she will have completed a second year of algebra. Both of these college admissions tests have questions based on algebra II.

There’s a growing movement to have students take algebra in seventh grade. That may work well for students who are motivated, mature and prepared to tackle it. But many seventh-graders aren’t, math educators say.

“Some kids get turned off of math because they start algebra too early,” says Francis Fennell, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the nation’s leading organization of math teachers.

Parents, he said, need to “make sure you ask yourself, ‘Is this move for you or for your child?’”  Fennell recommends talking to your child’s current teacher to help you assess her readiness to advance. The goal is for your child to learn algebra well and keep her engaged in math, not push her through the curriculum as quickly as possible.

Look for Homework Clues

W. Stephen Wilson is a Johns Hopkins math professor who teaches freshman calculus and is a former senior advisor for mathematics in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. He offers this advice to parents trying to evaluate their students’ math instruction:

“If a student isn’t bringing home work that requires lots of manipulation and lots of word problems, then there is probably a problem.”

Fennell suggests talking to your child and the math teacher about how homework is used. You may learn a lot from the answers if you ask:

• Are homework assignments corrected and returned in a timely way?
• Is homework reviewed in class so students can learn from their mistakes?
• Does the teacher change the pace or direction of his instruction, based on the feedback he gets in homework?

You don’t need to be a mathematician to ask good questions about the content of your child’s class, Fennell says. “Ask the teacher ‘What is the math? Is it a repeat of math that should have already been mastered? When my child finishes this year, will he be ready for high school math?’”

Bill Moore directs the Transition Mathematics Project in Washington state, which is working to better prepare students for the transition to college math. He summed up what middle school students need to get out of math this way:

“Students need to have a very solid foundation of basic procedural skills that really make problem-solving more fluid. There’s a fundamental set of stuff that just has to be memorized, and there there’s a sense of numbers, a sense of what’s a reasonable answer. That’s particularly important with the use of calculators. In some cases, in the elementary grades, they’ve been used as a crutch. Students go straight to the calculator and if the calculator says it’s right, then it must be right.”

Look at How Calculators Are Used

Talk to your child’s math teacher about how calculators are used in the classroom. Debate has raged for years over whether students are relying too much on calculators and failing to learn the standard algorithms – addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. But there does seem to be general agreement with the view expressed by Fennell that “the calculator is an instructional tool. It should support but not supplant anything. You don’t use it for 6 x 7.”

For more information on algebra or any other subject, contact the experts at the Tutoring Club. They offer kids the advantage they need to excel today and succeed in life.

The Tutoring Club is an advertiser on Richmondmom.com

That’s when it’s time to contact College Nannies where you’ll find highly qualified, experienced nannies to make the holidays less stressful and more enjoyable. Whether you need a nanny for a couple of hours, or for an entire evening out, they have affordable hourly services to meet your needs.

Maybe you want to spend an afternoon baking without the worry of entertaining the kids. They can help with that too. Perhaps you need to get some “private shopping” done for the little ones. They can handle the kids for you to do that too. Does a 4-hour date night sound appealing? Give them a call.

Let us make your holidays less stressful with experienced nannies.

No matter what you need when it comes to nannies who provide fun, safe, and experienced services, you’ll find it at College Nannies.

Don’t stress over the holidays — get some help to make it fun. Call College Nannies for all of your hourly childcare needs. You can reach them at 804.346.2242 or visit the College Nannies website.

Be sure to let us know about your experience so we can share it with other Richmond moms here on our site.

Fox College Funding LLC (www.FoxCollegeFunding.com) is providing free access to a series of video tutorials (www.MyFAFSAAssistant.org) to answer parents’ most pressing questions about how to accurately fill out and submit the FAFSA, the federal financial aid application.  While they are awaiting college admissions decisions, they need to meet the financial aid application filing deadlines for each college to which the student is applying.

This years FAFSA has been redesigned and greatly simplified this year, parents are still confused about how to correctly answer many of the questions. Parents need clarification on, for instance:

• Which assets need to be reported and which can we omit?
• How should we properly value our assets?
• In a separation or divorce situation, which parent should fill out the FAFSA?
• Why should we always sign the FAFSA electronically and how do we do that?
• Since there is only room to enter ten schools on the application, what do we do if our child has applied to more than ten schools?

In the tutorials Deborah Fox, founder of Fox College Funding, guides parents step-by-step through each section of the FAFSA and provides answers to the most frequently asked questions. Ms. Fox is recognized as one of the nation’s leading experts in college planning and is regularly interviewed and quoted by national media. For the past twelve years Fox College Funding has specialized in working with families across the country to help them navigate the financial aid process and to develop a personalized college funding plan that can reduce their college expenses by tens of thousands of dollars.

Fox College Funding is providing access to www.MyFAFSAAsssitant.org as a community outreach project to offer parents the critical information they need so they can position themselves to receive the best possible financial aid award.  Fox College Funding is represented locally by Michael Jones in Midlothian and Jonathan West of College Funding Group in the West End.

VA529 and college access providers will offer assistance to eligible high school students to help students reach their post-secondary education goals- including financial literacy and academic preparation, assistance with the admissions and financial aid process and scholarship support of up to $2,000.  Students must agree to meet program requirements which includes community service and working with a college access provider.

The SOAR program, which has been in development for the last two years, supports the VA529 mission of  making college more accessible and more affordable to Virginians.  By partnering with GReat Aspirations Scholarship Program, Inc, (GRASP) the program is being launched to 9th and 10th graders in two urban, two suburban and two rural high schools and is expected to reach 100 students in the first year.

GReat Aspirations Scholarship Program, Inc, (GRASP) – “GRASP is a non-profit organization specializing in helping students and their families, regardless of financial resources, to develop aneducational plan for after high school.  GRASP’s professional financial aid counselors work in high schools and private settings, without charge to students and families, to assist in overcoming financial and motivational challenges to the goal of higher education.”

Virginia 529 College Saving Plan (VA529) – Is the resource for Virginia’s tax-advantaged college savings programs. Virginia College Savings Plan’s mission is to make a college education more affordable for everyone. VA529 has four programs to offer more options to more people.

College Funding Group, a Richmond-based college funding company, has given students and parents an easy answer to that question. CFG has created a comprehensive database of scholarships provided by metro Richmond organizations to local students, and made it available online as the CFG ScholarBank™.

“We thought that it would be a great community service to share this information on our website,” says Jonathan West, President of College Funding Group. “Our mission at CFG is to help students and their parents navigate the college selection process and then paying the right price for that education by exploring all financial options, including scholarships. The ScholarBank™ is part of that mission.”

The ScholarBank™ provides easily-searchable listings with up-to-date information on the contributing organization, student eligibility criteria, scholarship amount, and application deadline. Active scholarships are linked directly to the contributor’s website, or have information on who to contact to apply.

About College Funding Group
College Funding Group helps Richmond families navigate the complexities of finding the right college for their student and paying the right price for that education. Offering custom funding plans tailored to a family’s needs, goals, and values, with resources and guidance for college-bound students to help them find the right college match and unlimited support during the college selection and application process, College Funding Group is your College Companion.

You’ve been saving money for college since the day your child was born. You’ve got a tidy bucket of cash in a 529 plan. Now your little one is a rising junior, and it’s time to plan for her or his college career.

What’s your plan?

If you think that, given your income and/or assets, that you’ll just have to write a check, you’re making a mistake. Would you pay sticker price for a car? Why would you pay sticker price for a college education?

Here are the top 5 reasons to have a college funding plan:

1. You can pay for college with pre-tax dollars
o By taking advantage of often overlooked portions of the tax code, your family can create “tax scholarships.” A tax scholarship is any new-found tax deduction that creates money you can use to reduce the cost of college. In essence, you can have the IRS pay a big piece of your college expenses.
2. You can get tuition discounts from schools, even if you don’t qualify for need-based aid
o If your child is a great fit for a school, that college or university will want your child to attend. Use that to your financial advantage and negotiate with the school, ask about discounts and grant programs that can reduce the sticker price of tuition.
3. You can send your child to a top school for the same price as a small state college
o Using tax scholarships, tuition discounts, merit-based aid, grants, and your negotiating skills, you can reduce the cost of an expensive private university to less than a state school.
4. You can achieve your family’s educational goals without sacrificing your values
o Help your child get a great education without putting yourself in debt, or sacrificing your retirement planning. Demonstrate financial responsibility in service of a life goal.
5. Your child learns the value of planning, and participates in charting his or her own future
o Your college-bound child can learn valuable life lessons by leading the charge on discovering private scholarships, learning how to assess their interests and skills to find the right college fit, and becoming the project lead on one of life’s most important projects.

Work with your college-bound student to help get him, or her, off to a great start on a meaningful education, and career. It’s all in the planning!

is a college funding planning expert. His firm, Montgomery Capital Management, is affiliated with Fox College Funding, a leading college funding planning service. He works with families & school counselors to develop customized college plans that get the most college “bang” for your scarce tuition bucks.