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More than 100 elementary, middle and high school students from 55 schools across Maryland have won the statewide personal finance and economics competitions coordinated by the Maryland Council on Economic Education (MCEE). The winners were honored on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at an awards ceremony at Towson University.
The competitions, described below, provide a fun, competitive atmosphere for learning personal finance and economics - topics often not taught in schools. More than 20,000 students from 20 Maryland counties participated in MCEE’s competitions this school year - the highest student participation in MCEE’s annual programs in more than 13 years.
Highlights of the awards are a team from Severn School in Anne Arundel County winning the Personal Finance Challenge National Championship, two teams from Mount Hebron High School in Howard County winning the Economic Challenge National Championships, and a Howard County student earning 5th place in the national Investwrite essay competition.
Awards were presented to winners in:
Stock Market Game™ (SMG): A semester- or year-long simulation challenging teams to create and manage an imaginary $100,000 portfolio to build the highest return on investment. Participants learn about the stock market, and the American and global economy while developing skills in math, reading, research and critical thinking.
InvestWrite Essay Competition: A national writing competition that reinforces the economic & financial education concepts students learned by participating in the Stock Market Game™.
Maryland Personal Finance Challenge: An academic competition where high school teams learn and demonstrate knowledge and application of personal finance concepts featuring case studies and quiz rounds. The Challenge is sponsored by M&T, WesBanco, State Farm, Aberdeen Proving Ground Federal Credit Union, First Financial Federal Credit Union, and Towson University.
The Maryland Economics Challenge: A one-day event in which teams of high school students exhibit their knowledge of micro and macroeconomic principles and the world economy.
Personal Finance Poster Competition: Students demonstrate their understanding of economic concepts through original art.
Financial Education Poetry Contest: This celebration of Financial Education month invited students and educators to create original poems about personal finance topics.
These competitions are coordinated by the Maryland Council on Economic Education, the nonprofit that helps Maryland's children graduate high school with the economic and financial knowledge and decision-making skills they need to succeed as adults. MCEE also works with educators by coordinating professional development experiences and creating lesson plans that incorporate financial education into any subject and for all grades. MCEE supports more than 2,000 teachers each year who reach over 228,000 Maryland students.
Said Julie Weaver, MCEE Executive Director, “The winning students from these statewide competitions should be proud of these wonderful accomplishments. They have creatively shown their understanding of personal finance and economics concepts and demonstrate how important this kind of learning is for all children.”
Click here for the full list of winners.
WesBanco Mission Aligns with MCEE
When a company is committed to making the communities they serve a better place for people and businesses to thrive, AND their employees directly participate in financial education programs, Maryland students - and MCEE - benefit.
That type of meaningful partnership is best exemplified by WesBanco’s participation with the Maryland Council on Economics Education.
Not only is the financial services provider a long-time financial supporter of MCEE, but members of the bank’s leadership team contribute their expertise and guidance to students in MCEE-coordinated activities. This Spring, for example, WesBanco Vice President and Commercial Banker Sue Sollers and Senior Vice President and Regional Commercial Officer Sammy Pulliam volunteered to assist students competing in the final round of the Maryland Personal Finance Challenge, where they evaluated the presentations created and delivered by six student teams to address a fictional family financial scenario.
“Our partnership with MCEE is a natural fit for WesBanco,” says Amy Gruntzer, Vice President and Commercial Banker and an MCEE board member. “We’re committed to empowering people to make informed decisions at every stage of their financial journey. That perfectly aligns with MCEE’s mission to equip Maryland youth with the financial knowledge and skills they need to be successful throughout their lives. Supporting MCEE allows us to extend our commitment to the youth in the communities we serve. “
To learn more about WesBanco’s commitment to the communities it serves, visit https://www.wesbanco.com/sustainability/communities/.
Our 2024 Student Achievement Awards event will be streaming live on May 15, 2024 from noon to 1:30pm. Connect with your digital device to join in the celebration of the students and educators who have excelled in our programs this year. Students from across Maryland will take the stage to share their stories of how important financial education is in their lives. Click here to join!
April is Financial Education Month - a great opportunity to elevate the irreplaceable work of teaching young people about personal finance and economics!
Whether by using MCEE resources with students in the classroom or starting the conversation at home, helping children build good financial habits and understanding of the financial world can create positive trajectories. No matter a student’s circumstance, wealth, or background, financial education is a significant step forward on the path toward success. With this knowledge, they’ll become responsible consumers, savers, workers, and citizens. Currently, studies show that more than half of American adults are financially illiterate. This education works to change that and improve all of our futures.
MCEE Wins Middle States Council for Social Studies Distinguished Service Award
MCEE was recently honored by the Middle States Council for Social Studies, receiving its Distinguished Service Award for “innovative ideas to support more effective social studies education.”
MCEE’s Director of Teacher Education George Toepfer accepted the award at the MSCSS Awards Ceremony on Saturday, March 2 in Annapolis.
The oldest professional organization in the country devoted to social studies education, The Middle States Council for Social Studies engages and supports social studies educators in grades K-12 and beyond across five states.
Said Julie Weaver, MCEE Executive Director, “We’re incredibly proud to be recognized for the work we do reaching more than 200,000 Maryland students a year with creative and engaging personal finance and economics learning experiences. This content is a natural and important component of social studies. This honor is motivating and affirming as we continue to inspire and support teachers as they bring these critical concepts to students, families, and communities throughout Maryland.”
Calling all teachers and students! The Maryland Council on Economic Education invites you to enter its inaugural Financial Education Poetry Competition - a fun contest that combines financial understanding with creativity!
Students and teachers at all grade levels can submit a video in which you read or perform your original poem you create related to financial education. Poems may be in the form of traditional poetry, rap, or slam poetry. See below for eligibility info, entry requirements and how to enter!
The deadline to submit entries is April 15, 2024. Winners will be selected for elementary, middle, and high school categories, as well as a special category for educators! Winners will be invited to perform their poem at our Annual Awards Luncheon on May 15th.
The Financial Education Poetry Competition celebrates National Financial Education month and National Poetry Month, both in April.
Need some inspiration?
April is a month of financial literacy and poetry and we’re here to say,
We have a contest, and we’d like you to play!
Using a financial literacy term, write a poem of your own.
It’s a fun way to make your understanding of the term known.
Once written, recite it in spoken word with verse, slam a rap, or song.
Just remember the maximum is two minutes long.
The Financial Education Poetry Competition levels:
Elementary school: students in grades K-5
Middle school: students in grades 6-8
High school: students in grades 9-12
Educators: of grades K-12
Entries will be evaluated based on:
Quality, including accuracy, creativity, persuasiveness, clarity, and overall visual and audio appeal.
Ability to express your poem in spoken word.
Inclusion of a financial literacy term.
Entry requirements:
Poems of all kinds are welcome - from prose to rhymes to raps and slam.
A financial literacy term must be used in the poem, such as spending, saving, budgeting, compound interest, stocks, stock market, building wealth, etc.
Entries (limited to one per person) must be sent as a video of the poem’s author reading (or performing) their poem. Video requirements:
No longer than 2 minutes
Horizontal orientation only
Ideal video quality: 1920 x 1080p.
Videos including music must use original music
Videos must contain no copyrighted materials (logos, brands, etc)
All entries must be original and not used before this competition.
No obligation or liability is assumed by MCEE in connection with the contest.
Groups can be in the video, but the entry must be from one author only.
How to Enter:
Entries should be emailed to mcee@towson.edu by 5 p.m. on April 15, 2024.
Videos can be sent as attachments or links to personal YouTube pages
Entry emails should include the completed entry form,found here.
Good luck and happy writing!
Partners are a core reason why MCEE is able to reach more than 2,000 educators and 200,000 students across Maryland each year with personal finance-focused learning experiences. M&T Bank is a perfect example of the perfect partner for MCEE.
M&T Bank is the lead sponsor of MCEE’s Personal Finance Challenge, the engaging academic competition that challenges teams of high school students to learn, demonstrate and apply knowledge of personal finance concepts.
The fit between M&T and MCEE couldn’t be better. M&T works every day to help its customers manage their money. In choosing who to support, they look for organizations doing meaningful work that helps those customers (or future customers!) build the financial skills they need to succeed. In MCEE, they found a true partner - one that, through the Personal Finance Challenge and other programs, is helping build that financial knowledge in topics like income, spending, saving, managing credit, investing, and managing risk. Their significant contributions to the Personal Finance Challenge make this program, and this transformational learning, possible.
Sherrice Davis, M&T Bank’s Vice President/Regional Community Reinvestment Officer said: “The Personal Finance Challenge is valuable as students learn about and prepare for the major milestones that come with adulthood. At M&T Bank, we are committed to providing tools and resources to our communities so they understand the value of money and smart financial choices in their daily lives. We’re proud to partner with MCEE to support Maryland students.”
That support is going a long way to ensuring young people are building the financial skills they need. Through student pre-and-post-test program evaluations, MCEE saw that over the last year, students who participated in the Personal Finance Challenge showed knowledge gains averaging 10-15%.
BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Some may have the mindset of "we don't talk about money," but that can lead to more damage than good for future generations.
Julie Weaver, Executive Director of Maryland Council on Economic Education (MCEE), joined the FOX45 Morning News team to talk about how to approach the subject of money with your kids for 2024. Click here to view the taped segment.
Dozens of educators, school leaders, elected officials and partners gathered Oct. 25 at Towson University’s Auburn House to celebrate the Maryland Council on Economic Education’s 70th anniversary.
The organization works with educators to ensure Maryland’s K-12 students are able to access engaging personal finance and economics education. Attendees enjoyed delicious food and drink, engaging conversation and the inspiring perspectives from leaders and community members on why this kind of learning is so important for young people, their futures and the economy as a whole.
Click here to see photos
The support of MCEE’s partners makes our support of Maryland’s educators and students possible.This month, we’re highlighting Educational Systems Federal Credit Union.
The fit between Educational Systems Federal Credit Union and MCEE couldn’t be better. Educational Systems Federal Credit Union was formed by educators in 1955 and proudly serves teachers, administrators, support staff, parents, and students. In fact, Educational Systems Federal Credit Union’s first loan was made to a teacher who needed to buy a car to get to work. This shared commitment to supporting educators aligns our work and enhances our meaningful partnership.
Said Dominic Powell, Educational Systems Federal Credit Union Vice President, Business Development and Partnerships, “in working with the Maryland Council on Economic Education, we can provide financial literacy that meets Maryland’s standards across the state.”
Educational Systems Federal Credit Union’s sponsorship helps more schools and students access MCEE programs such as the Stock Market Game and the Personal Finance Challenge. “Our top priority is the financial well-being of the education community,” explained Powell. “By leveraging these programs in the classroom, students learn real life skills that will support them as they prepare for their life after high school.”
This partnership expands all the way into the classroom. Through MCEE, Educational Systems Federal Credit Union participates in panel discussions, class presentations, and speaker series that reinforce the personal finance and economics concepts students are learning. They also partner with MCEE in providing helpful books and resources for classrooms.
Said Powell, “we are proud to be a long-standing partner of the Maryland Council on Economic Education. We look forward to a continued partnership!”
A huge thanks to Educational Systems Federal Credit Union for the ongoing support.
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