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.

See the whole story and video here

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!