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.

Berry’s previous prize-winning work included lesson plans and entire economics units that combined in-class instruction, classroom enterprises, and culminating field trips.

“Bonnie’s work has shown us how much children can learn about the economic world they live in, even at a very early age,” said Stephanne Byrd, board chair of Shenandoah Valley Economic Education Inc. SVEE provides funding for a comprehensive economic education program locally.

Laura Evy, Berry’s principal at Ottobine, said her work continues to be “cutting edge” after 43 years of teaching experience. “Having children experience ‘real life’ learning, even as kindergartners, is one of Mrs. Berry’s daily goals,” Evy said. “Using economics to achieve this goal is evident throughout the year as the students are taken out of the school building classroom and thrust into the real world of economic resources.”

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.

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.

• 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…

Why SVEE is so important

In 1972, Harold Durrett and economics teacher Elizabeth Allebaugh (now Elizabeth Volard), frustrated by the lack of understanding of our free enterprise system, recognized the need for basic economic education in our schools. They, with the help of Zane Showker and Chip Strickler,  along with local businessmen and the Chamber of Commerce, formed FREEA (which incorporated as SVEE in 1981) to address this problem.  They pioneered the model of hiring a certified teacher consultant to teach teachers how to teach economics in the classroom.  James Madison University joined in this venture by bringing an economics professor to work with the program and providing office space and administrative support.

In the early 1990s, Virginia imposed a set of mandates called Standards of Learning (SOL’s) in an attempt to address shortfalls in K-12 education.  As a result of these new requirements, SVEE’s role of teaching teachers became even more crucial because they were totally unprepared to tackle economics components of the standards.

SVEE meets today’s challenges with a full-time teacher consultant, group workshops, and individualized training including the use of nationally recognized learning tools such as The Stock Market Game and the Mini-Society.  This approach has proven successful year after year and has, in fact, become a model for Virginia and the rest of the country.

More than a quarter million students have been reached by SVEE’s programming and its reputation has been well established.  Now it is time for us to meet the future challenge of sustaining and advancing SVEE’s mission into the future with your investment. We urge you to stand up and make your commitment to the future generations of community leaders, consumers and wage earners. With your help, SVEE will continue to prepare our local teachers to successfully teach economics to area students.

Stand up for Economic Education: contact us for the full story, and to join us in enhancing the economic education of our children — and the economic development of our community!

Shenandoah Valley Economic Education
238 Campbell St.
Harrisonburg, VA 22801
540-568-3244

The awards were won by Barbara Palmer of Montevideo Middle School, Bonnie Berry of Ottobine Elementary School, and Allen J. Ruliffson of J. Frank Hillyard Middle School.

There were separate competitions for full economics units and for lesson plans in an elementary division for kindergarten through fifth grade and a secondary division for grades six through 12.

Palmer’s project, the “Go Green Gang: Doing Green Things Brings Green Rewards,” won first place for full economics units in the secondary division. For her project, middle school students learned individually and in groups about the costs and benefits of environmentally sensitive practices.

Berry’s project, “Resources Working Together,” won first place for lesson plans in the elementary division.

For Berry’s project, kindergarten students learned about natural, human and capital resources. A culminating field trip to a Bridgewater pizza restaurant allowed students to make their own pizzas.

Ruliffson’s project won first place among secondary school lesson plans.

For his lesson plan, “Education, Careers, and Technology,” Ruliffson developed a challenging simulation of life choices and budgeting.

Also placing in state competition were Wayne Arbogast of J. Frank Hillyard Middle School and a joint project by Maria Blair and Tammy Shearer of Plains Elementary School.

Arbogast placed second in the secondary division for full economics units with “Building Success,” a project in which students planned, constructed and finished a storage building to learn basic economic principles and to develop work skills.

Blair and Shearer won second place among elementary economics units for their Civil War project, “A Man’s Gotta Do What a Man’s Gotta Do.”

The state winners were entered through a local competition sponsored by the Harrisonburg Rotary Club and the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce. Winners were recognized at a meeting of the Rotary Club on October 5. In addition to the state prize-winning units and lesson plans, local recognition went to:

• Heather Gigliotti and Therese Warner of McGaheysville Elementary School, for a year-long reading, physical exercise and economics project, “Healthy Hearts, Minds, and Souls.”
• Callie Randolph of J. Frank Hillyard Middle School, for “Agriculture Business 101,” an in-class agricultural society that taught students about economics and entrepreneurship.
• Greg Corder of Thomas Harrison Middle School for “Credit Card Lending,” a project that used computer exercises to teach students about credit cards, interest and the pitfalls of overcharging.
• Faith Hottle of Broadway High School for “The Value of a High School Diploma,” showing students the value of education and independent living skills through a variety of exercises and activities.

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.