Shenandoah Valley - Economic Eeducation Inc.

Two projects by local teachers were honored in the Virginia Council on Economic Education’s 2012 award competition. The winning teachers were Dawn Flora and Ann Komara of Ottobine Elementary School and Barbara Palmer of Montevideo Middle School.

Third place in a new state competition that combines grades K-12 went to the Flora-Komara project, “Hitting a Grand Slam with Eagle Bucks.” In this project, a classroom currency called “Eagle Bucks” and the game of softball motivated lessons teaching first graders about basic economics.

Fourth place in the new competition went to Palmer’s “Green Island: Living Well for the Good of the Earth and Your Pocketbook.” This environmental economics unit centered on sixth grade students producing a marketable product from recycled material while learning about environmental choices and costs.

Economic education locally is supported by Shenandoah Valley Economic Education Inc., a nonprofit organization that combines business and school contributions to fund the field work of the James Madison University Center for Economic Education.

Barbara Palmer

Barbara Palmer of Montevideo Middle School has won the grand prize in local economic education competition sponsored by the Harrisonburg Rotary Club and the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce.

The winning project was “Green Island: Living Well for the Good of the Earth and Your Pocketbook.” This environmental economics unit centered on sixth grade students producing a marketable product from recycled material while learning about environmental choices and costs. (more…)

More than 350 students from schools across the Shenandoah Valley attended the 15th annual GEM Fair, an entrepreneurship fair sponsored by Shenandoah Valley Economic Education, Inc. and conducted by James Madison University. GEM stands for “Global Entrepreneurship Marketplace,” reflecting the international simulation conducted each year at the GEM Fair. Participating students have worked with teachers to create in-class mini-economies, each with its own currency. For the GEM Fair, students convert their money into holdings of the fair’s official currency, the Gem. Awards are given for innovative products, outstanding marketing and money design. Young Entrepreneurs of the Year are also selected. Shenandoah Valley Economic Education is a nonprofit organization that promotes economic literacy in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. JMU economic education is a sponsored program of SVEE.

This video explains how SVEE-funded programs help teach are students about investing — in this case, through the Stock Market Game. In the game, students use $100,000 of hypothetical money to buy and sell stocks at actual market prices. There are ten-week competitions in the fall and in the spring. Winners are honored at a May reception at JMU.

Local economic education award winners were recognized at the October 3, 2011 meeting of the Harrisonburg Rotary Club. The awards program is a joint effort of the Rotary Club, the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce, and SVEE. Below, from left, recognized winners were: Paul Yoder of Thomas Harrison Elementary School, Jeremy Aldrich of Stone Spring Elementary School, Maria Blair of Plains Elementary School, Susan Eckenrode of John Wayland Elementary School, Tammy Shearer of Plains Elementary School, Jennifer Wright of Waterman Elementary School, and Allen J. Ruliffson of John C. Myers Middle School. Bonnie Berry was also separately recognized for her Teacher of the Year award from GATE, the Global Association of Teachers of Economics.

Bonnie Berry

Bonnie Berry, who teaches kindergarten at Ottobine Elementary School, is this year’s elementary Teacher of the Year for GATE, the Global Association of Teachers of Economics.

Berry, a frequent winner of local and state competition, was nominated for the award by Lynne F. Stover of the JMU Center for Economic Education. “Bonnie has always done a great job of helping her kindergarteners understand economic principles,” Stover said. “I thought she would be a strong candidate for the GATE award.”

Berry will be recognized in Chicago at the October meeting of GATE, during the annual joint meeting of GATE, the Council for Economic Education and the National Association of Economic Educators.
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Allen J. Ruliffson has won the local economic education competition sponsored by the Harrisonburg Rotary Club and the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce. The winning project was “Getting Real with Economics.” Ruliffson’s project guided students through career choice, personal finance and economic decision-making on their way toward mastering the seventh grade civics and economics Standards of Learning. The prize carries a $1,000 cash award.  All the local winners are to be recognized at a meeting of the Rotary Club on October 3.

In this year’s competition, first prize in the primary division for grades K-2 went to Susan Eckenrode of John Wayland Elementary School for “Let’s Buy Our Valentine Candy.” For Eckenrode’s project, second graders learned about money and scarcity in visiting an in-class candy store.

First place in the intermediate division for grades 3-5 was won by Maria Blair and Tammy Shearer for “Building Communities Together – One Tree at a Time.” Blair is assistant principal at Plains Elementary School and Shearer is assistant principal at John C. Myers Elementary School. Their project united students from Plains and Myers in a comprehensive unit that culminated in a memorial tree planting.

This year, first place in the middle school division went to Jeremy Aldrich of Thomas Harrison Middle School for “Making a Difference Through Microlending: Real-World Economics Lessons for Foreign Language and Social Studies Classes.” Aldrich’s eighth grade French students learned about the power of entrepreneurship and microlending to improve lives through the project, which was focused on French-speaking African countries.

Second place in the middle school division was won by Paul Yoder of Thomas Harrison Middle School for his “Great Depression Game,” which showed seventh graders the impact of the Great Depression and the New Deal.

All of the local projects went to state competition sponsored by the Virginia Council on Economic Education. Economic education locally is supported by Shenandoah Valley Economic Education Inc., a nonprofit organization that combines business and school contributions to fund the field work of the James Madison University Center for Economic Education.

Can you answer these questions…

• Why does a $2.60 gallon of crude oil cost $3.20 at the pump?
• Why do grocery stores only make 2% or less of your total grocery bill?
• What are human, capital and natural resources?
• What are scarcity and opportunity cost?

Fortunately, because of Shenandoah Valley Economic Education, Inc. (SVEE) students can answer these and many other questions about money and business. This has an impact on your future… (more…)