Announcing the winners of the 2021 Maryland Economics Challenge!

Each year the Maryland Council on Economic Education hosts the Maryland Economics Challenge Competition.   The challenge is an annual academic competition where teams of four students from high schools throughout Maryland compete to demonstrate knowledge of microeconomics principals, macroeconomic principals, and the world economy.

There are two divisions within the Economics Challenge Competition Program.  The David Ricardo division is for first time competitors who have taken no more than one economics course.   The Adam Smith division is for returning competitors, students enrolled in Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses, or who have been enrolled in more than one economics course.

We are proud to announce the winners from the 2021 Maryland Economics Challenge.  The first place winner in each division will advance to represent Maryland in the National Economics Challenge in May.  Each team member of the first place team in each division will also receive a $100 cash prize from the Maryland Council on Economic Education.  Congratulations to all who participated.   We are proud of you!

 

David Ricardo Division

1^st Place Winner – Mt. Hebron High School, Advisor Vann Prime, Team David Ricardo I

      

2^nd Place Winner- Centennial High School, Advisor Patricia Reese, Team Centennial Green

 

3^rd Place Winner- Centennial High School, Advisor Patricia Reese, Team Centennial Blue

 

4^th Place Winner- Richard Montgomery High School, Advisor Douglas McDonald, Team RM 7

 

5^th Place Winner- Gilman School, Advisor Sean Furlong, Team Greyhound

 

 

Adam Smith Division

 

1^st Place Winner – Mt. Hebron High School, Advisor Vann Prime, Team Adam Smith I

     All student team members scored a 100% on the challenge exam!

 

2^nd Place Winner- Richard Montgomery High School, Advisor Douglas McDonald, Team RM 1

 

3^rd Place Winner- Richard Montgomery High School, Advisor Doughlas McDonald, Team RM 2

 

4^th Place Winner – Mt. Hebron High School, Advisor Vann Prime, Team Adam Smith II

 

5^th Place Winner – Winston Churchill High School, Advisor Monica Malanoski, Team Bulldog Bullish Economists

 

This is the fourth consecutive year that Mt. Hebron High School has won the Maryland Economics Challenge and they will advance to compete for their third consecutive National Economics Challenge Championship.   Congratulations and we wish the students and Mr. Prime good luck in the National Economics Challenge. 

HCPS fifth graders meet New Zealand-based children's book author

TOWSON, Md., March 15, 2021 – The Maryland Council on Economic Education (MCEE) partnered with APG Federal Credit Union (APGFCU) to host Elissa Brent Weissman, author of The Short Seller, and the entire Harford County Public School (HCPS) fifth-grade class through virtual events on March 15, 17 and 18, 2021. HCPS students had the opportunity to meet the New Zealand-based children’s book author and discuss The Short Seller, which they are currently reading, as well as their experiences participating in the Stock Market Game.

The Short Seller revolves around a 12-year-old girl, Lindy Sachs, who begins trading stocks in her father’s online trading account while home sick from school. Lindy soon realizes she’s very skillful at e-trading and has an opportunity to be successful.

As HCPS students are reading The Short Seller, they are simultaneously playing the Stock Market Game in class, which educates students about the stock market, America’s economic system and the global economy. Participants develop skills in math, language arts, research and critical thinking while building and maintaining a stock portfolio over several months using $100,000 of virtual cash. This innovative curriculum allows students to apply the information from The Short Seller into creating their own model stock portfolios.

George Toepfer, Supervisor of Social Studies at HCPS, is the visionary who led efforts to incorporate the Stock Market Game into the curriculum for all fifth-grade students. Teachers and students have embraced this innovative approach to teaching Social Studies concepts. This event is the result of a strong partnership between HCPS, MCEE and APGFCU’s generous donation to fund the purchase of the books for the entire HCPS fifth-grade class.

MCEE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which has been training Maryland teachers and providing engaging hands-on programs for K-12 students to encourage transformational learning since 1953. In addition to coordinating the Stock Market Game experience for students state-wide in grades 4-12, MCEE also sponsors the Maryland Personal Finance Challenge, The Maryland Economics Challenge, and a poster contest annually. MCEE’s mission is to ensure Maryland’s children leave school prepared to make thoughtful and responsible economic and personal finance decisions. More information about the MCEE can be found at: www.econed.org

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Through a unique partnership between the Harford County Public Schools Social Studies Office, the Maryland Council on Economic Education and APG Federal Credit Union, 5th grade students are learning about investing and the economy through participating in The Stock Market Game experience and reading The Short Seller, by Elissa Brent Weissman.

This unique opportunity could not have been realized without generous support from APG Federal Credit Union, which made the Stock Market Game experience possible and provided each 5th grade student with a copy of The Short Seller.  In addition, APG Federal Credit Union provided support for MCEE to bring the author, Elissa Brent Weissman to speak to 5th grade students virtually this week from her home in New Zealand.  Students were able to learn about the writing process and why Ms. Weissman decided to write a book about investing in the stock market.

Innovative partnerships and programs like this bring financial and economic education alive for students. Students are engaged in both reading and applying knowledge through researching their own investments and creating a model portfolio.   This is the type of transformational learning that MCEE wants to bring to all students in Maryland. 

Baltimore Fifth Grader Wins National Competition Asking Contestants To Give Economic Advice To President Joe Biden

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — One Baltimore City fifth-grader just won a nationwide economics competition.

Hundreds of students were asked to answer one question: What economic advice would you give President Joe Biden?

Bella-Grace Annibal gave her advice to the president.

“I propose that we cut military spending to fund for two things, healthcare and education,” she said.

This was part of a competition from the Council for Economic Education. It asked students to submit their economic advice to President Biden in 60 seconds or less.

“Fix our healthcare system, free healthcare for every American,” Bella-Grace said.

400 students sent in their videos. Bella-Grace won among the third, fourth

“Fix our educational system,” she said. “Every child should have access to world-class learning resources and a proper school infrastructure.”

The judges included economic experts from Harvard, Princeton, The Ford Motor Company and The Federal Reserve.

Her mom, who is her homeschool teacher, said Bella-Grace came up with the answer all on her own.

“We did a bit of research together on the economy. In fifth grade, you know, it’s not something you typically talk about as a subject,” Trenessa Annibal, Bella-Grace’s mom, said.

Bella-Grace said she hopes President Biden will heed her advice.

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The mission of the Maryland Council on Economic Education is to assure that Maryland’s school children leave high school equipped with the economic knowledge and decision-making skills they need to make informed decisions as consumers, workers, citizens, savers, investors and participants in the global economy.  We are excited to announce that Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot has joined our Honorary Board of Trustees to help us raise awareness and support for expanding our economic and financial education initiatives statewide.

Throughout his many years of public service, Comptroller Franchot has long been a supporter of economic and financial education for Maryland’s youth. Upon joining the Board, Comptroller Franchot remarked, “Economic education is critical to lifting generations out of poverty and building strong futures. We must ensure core financial principles are instilled in every student and young adult so they can pursue a good-paying job and a high quality of life that is the foundation of the American dream. I am honored to serve as an honorary member of the MCEE board and look forward to bringing a fresh perspective to this important initiative.”

Julie Weaver, Executive Director of the Maryland Council on Economic Education, noted that she is thrilled to be working more closely with the Comptroller’s Office.  “One of our foundational goals is to provide access to critical economic and financial education to all students in Maryland, and overcome structural barriers to knowledge that have existed for centuries and kept marginalized communities in poverty.  We share this mission with the Comptroller and are excited to have his support as we work to accomplish this critical goal.”

The Maryland Council on Economic Education focuses on supporting teachers by offering comprehensive professional development education to raise their skills and confidence in teaching the Maryland Financial Literacy Standards in their classrooms.  MCEE offers free training, resources, lessons, and programs like the Stock Market Game™ and the Maryland Economics and Personal Finance Challenge Programs for students throughout Maryland.

For more detailed information about Maryland Council on Economic Education, their programs, upcoming workshops, videos, events, and other additional information, click HERE.

 

We are pleased to announce the winners of the fall session of the Stock Market Game™ experience.  The Maryland Council on Economic Education (MCEE) offers the Stock Market Game™ to students and teachers throughout Maryland in grades 4-12 as a transformational, hands-on learning activity. 

This program allows students to learn critical skills in saving and investing by working in teams to invest a model portfolio of $100,000.  Student teams compete against teams in their grade band from across the state to earn the highest return on their portfolio.   In the fall session, students began investing their portfolios in early October after learning the basic terminology and mechanics of investing.  The fall session concluded just before the holiday season in December giving students ample time to learn the impact of global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic on their portfolios.

The teacher of the winning teams in each school will receive a banner to display in their classroom to recognize their exceptional achievement.   Each teacher and school will also be recognized at the Maryland Council on Economic Education’s Annual Student Achievement and Awards Program to be held at the end of the academic year.   Congratulations to all of the winners!