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September 26, 2025

State Treasurer Curtis Loftis Recognizes Dowanda Bryant of Hopkins Middle School as Educator of the Month

Midlands educator loves preparing her students for life beyond the classroom

COLUMBIA, S.C. (September 26, 2026) – South Carolina Treasurer Curtis Loftis has recognized Dowanda Bryant of Richland One School District's Hopkins Middle School as the September Educator of the Month. The South Carolina Financial Literacy Master Teacher Program is an initiative Loftis established to expand the number of educators teaching personal finance education across the state.

“I love hearing how our master teachers like Dowanda Bryant use their own experiences to help bridge lessons and understanding among their students. For too long we discouraged people from talking about money in public,” Treasurer Loftis said. “I believe by sharing these important life skills about saving, building credit, living within our means and investing for the future, we are providing students with the building blocks for a better financial future.”

The South Carolina Financial Literacy Master Teacher Program provides financial incentives to K-12 teachers who are experts in personal finance education and have a passion to share this knowledge with their peers. Since 2020, this ground-breaking program has provided specialized training and free personal finance curriculum resources that better enable them to promote financial literacy education in K-12 schools. It is sponsored by Future Scholar, South Carolina’s 529 College Savings Plan, and in partnership with SC Economics.

Dowanda Bryant now teaches financial literacy and career readiness after a successful career as a coach and counselor. Bryant earned her Bachelor of Science degree in organizational management and two Master of Arts degrees, one in management and leadership and the other in information technology. She further plans to pursue a doctorate in educational leadership.

“I am passionate about teaching financial literacy and helping students identify potential career paths. I enjoy using interactive, relevant, engaging resources, and content with my students in hopes I can stimulate their creative and critical thinking about these matters,” Bryant explained.

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.

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Investing involves risk including the risk of loss of principal. Please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Contact your financial advisor or visit futurescholar.com for a Direct Plan Program Description, which contains this and other important information about the Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan. Read it carefully before investing. You should also consider, before investing, whether the investor's or designated beneficiary's home state offers any state tax or other state benefits such as financial aid, scholarship funds and protection from creditors that are only available for investments in such state's qualified tuition program.

Tax treatment varies by state. The tax information set forth on this website is general in nature and does not constitute tax advice on the part of Columbia Management Investment Distributors, Inc., its affiliates or the South Carolina Office of State Treasurer. Please contact your tax advisor before making any tax related decisions.

The Direct Plan is sold directly by the Program and is limited to a specific group of investors, as described in the Program Description . You may also participate in the Advisor Plan, which is sold exclusively through financial advisors. The Advisor Plan offers additional investment choices, but the fees and expenses are higher. Please contact your financial advisor for additional information on the Advisor Plan.

The Office of State Treasurer of South Carolina (the State Treasurer) administers the Program and has selected Columbia Management Investment Advisers, LLC and Columbia Management Investment Distributors, Inc. (Columbia Management) as Program Manager. Columbia Management and its affiliates are responsible for providing certain administrative, recordkeeping and investment services, and for the marketing of the Program. Columbia Management is not affiliated with the State Treasurer.