USI Hosting 24th annual Stock Market Game Awards Program

The University of Southern Indiana Center for Economic Education will host the 24^th annual Southwest Indiana Stock Market Game awards program at 11 a.m., January 31, 3012, in Carter Hall, in the University Center.

The awards program is open to students, parents, teachers, and administrators of participating schools in the southwest Indiana region. Student winners from the top four teams in each division will be recognized for their academic achievement, and receive a certificate of accomplishment and a tee shirt. Teachers also receive a plaque for display at their schools.

This year’s winners include:

• Elementary Division: first, second, third, and fourth place, Glenwood Leadership Academy
• Middle School Division: first and second place, Perry Central School; third and fourth place, Thompkins Middle School
• High School Division: first and third place, Northeast Dubois High School; second and fourth place, Castle High School

The Stock Market Game, part of a national event, gives students an opportunity to learn how the economic system works, analyze news on the economy and markets, strengthen math and computer skills, and make decisions in teams. Teams of three to five students from grades 4-12 invest an imaginary $100,000 over a 10-week period. There are three divisions: elementary, middle school, and high school. The southwest region is well represented with an average of more than 300 teams and 1,200 students participating.

“Students having a working knowledge of markets is critical in today’s day and age,” says Dr. Gregory P. Valentine, director of the Center for Economic Education. “If they have a working knowledge of how things work, they have a shot at a larger nest egg down the road.”

Valentine adds that students over the years have become interested in financial markets and pursued finance as a college major, with the goal of working in the banking and securities industries.

The Center for Economic Education, one of 13 regional centers throughout Indiana, was first established under the direction of Valentine in spring 1988. It has been an affiliate with the National Council on Economic Education (NCEE) since its inception. The NCEE and the Indiana Council for Economic Education and its 13 regional centers have been formed in order to provide elementary and secondary teachers with programs and materials to get economics and personal finance education into the classroom and to help students apply in their lives what they learn in school.

Read USI news release>>