Annual Report
FY 2008

President’s Report on FY 2008 - Abbejean Kehler

2007-08 was a year of the “3P’s” – Programs, Partnerships and Public Awareness! We all believe we are making a difference, and in the past year, our changes and impact have been dramatic. Over 1,000 teachers across the state have taken part in our Personal Finance Teacher Academys, and the multiplier affect is dramatic. These high school teachers will generally instruct 100-300 students annually; as a result our impact will reach over 100,000 students in the next school year alone.

Bryan Jordan, Chief Economist for Nationwide, accepted the Chairmanship of the OCEE Board of Trustees and has promised to lead us through a thorough review of our outreach, structure, and commitment to the economic and personal finance education of every Ohio student. This review process started in January with the invitation of Senator Steve Stivers, Representative Joyce Beatty and Treasurer Richard Cordray, among others, to meet with the Board and our network of university-based Centers to speak with us candidly about the broader need and vision that we should be striving towards.

Programs

OCEE conducted a day-long workshop for elementary teachers in the Akron-Canton area called Economics & Reading, to develop their skills at using children’s literature to improve student reading and comprehension, but also to help them learn basic economics. The workshop carried graduate credit and was at capacity at 35 teachers. Later during the year, Weinland Park Elementary in Columbus was awarded two of our Economics Toolkits for the Classroom (ETC kits). Each kit focuses on the tested content in economics using children’s stories, lessons and video materials. ETC kits are self-contained, non-consumable and include approximately $500 of educational materials apiece.

In addition, OCEE has been made a member of the Ohio Commission on Personal Finance, which serves the State Treasurers office. This past year we worked on 4 important initiatives: the roll-out of the designated National Week for Personal Financial Literacy, a subcommittee on examining outreach efforts to schools, a subcommittee on school district curriculum strategies, and of course, the Personal Finance Teacher Academys.

Finally, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland has asked OCEE to serve on the Board of their principle outreach program, the Learning Center and Money Museum, a long-term effort to teach children about money and the banking system.

Partnerships

In partnership with the Ohio Insurance Institute, we have incorporated into the Teachers Academys instructional plan an incredible learning module on the basics of insurance, called Strive to Drive. This lively 90-minute activity takes students through the process of buying and keeping a car, and was met with open enthusiasm by teachers and the students. Funding for the pilot program enabled us to reach 75 teachers, and we estimate that this colorful, lively activity reached over 7,500 students. We are delighted to add that we will be extending this project out to an additional 1,000 teachers in the coming year with funding already pledged from the Ohio Insurance Institute and State Farm Insurance.

WOSU approached OCEE about serving on a team to develop a web-based, interactive learning “video game” for second graders to learn about the marketplace, production, and supply and demand. This pilot, if successful in this medium, will be expanded to include similar activities at other grade levels.

OCEE (in addition to its affiliated Centers) personally conducted two Teacher Academys: one Academy was offered to educators in the Athens area and another in the Columbus area. Thirty-nine teachers took back over $250 worth of instructional materials to their schools and students. Across Ohio, our network of university Centers worked together to support 20 Teacher Academys through a grant from the Key Bank Foundation for nearly $500,000, with leadership from the Ashland University Office of Development. Last year we were able to brag about reaching over 300 teachers, but this year’s effort truly demonstrates our impact - over 875 teachers attended over 20 programs around the state. In the coming year those teacher will pass on what they have learned to more than 87,500 students!

Many individuals wonder how we can effectively teach children about investing, and we reply: use the Stock Market Game. Students begin with a portfolio of $100,000 in imaginary money, and follow the actual market as they enter trades using a web-based portfolio manager. Participants get nearly real-time stock prices, buy and sell on all three exchanges and can utilize many sophisticated tools and research links in this activity. The Foundation for Investor Education, a Stock Market Game partner, has developed an incredible library of teacher materials and student information. This past year we were able to bring this program to a number of students at minimal or no charge through sponsorships! Over 6,500 students participated in this simulation in their classrooms and have begun their education on how to grow their own portfolio in the future.

Public Awareness

Recently a sandwich chain, Potbelly, was sued for using deceptive methods of persuading students to apply for credit cards. The Ohio Attorney Generals office chose to drop the suit in exchange for Potbelly providing a $6000 sponsorship to OCEE, for the purpose of showing a documentary video on credit card debt, Maxed Out, on several Ohio university campuses. The Economics Center for Education & Research was instrumental in coordinating this effort, and we this very unique approach may result in future opportunities for OCEE to receive funding to reach its mission.

OCEE President Abbejean Kehler continued to serve as the Chair for the Ohio Social Studies Resource Center, an online resource free to teachers. This very unique collaborative brings together a variety of state organizations, namely the Ohio Board of Regents, Ohio Historical Society, both teacher unions, the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education, Ohio Council for the Social Studies, and faculty from both Ohio University and Ohio State University.

Also in 2008, we participated in the formation of an Ohio Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education, supporting the National Entrepreneurship Week held the last week of February. Plans are already in development for an even larger presentation in 2009. Additionally, OCEE and two Board members participated in the National Summit on Personal Finance and Economic Education in Washington D.C. to learn what other states are doing, and what public policies and leadership see as accomplishments as well as future needs.

The 2008 Ohio Economics Challenge

The Advancing Team in the David Ricardo (Basic Economics) Division, from North Ridgeville High School, with Team Coach Lucky Varouh at Center.

This competition for high school students remains one of our most popular and successful programs, and the seventh annual Ohio Economics Challenge was no exception – 23 teams from ten schools joined the event this year: that’s 92 students and 10 teacher-advisors. That doesn’t count the numerous students who competed with their classmates prior to the Challenge for the honor of making the school team(s)!

The winning teams, Strongsville High School for the Adam Smith Division and North Ridgeville HS for the David Ricardo Division, went on to represent Ohio at the online Midwest Regional Economics Challenge. They placed very well but were unable to make it to the National Competition in New York. Ohio will get there eventually!

2008 Contributors

Citigroup

National Council on Economic Education

National Federation of Independent Business - Ohio

Nationwide Insurance Foundation

Ohio Department of Education

Ohio Insurance Institute

Ohio State University - College of Education and Human Ecology

State Farm Insurance

Vorys Sater Seymour and Pease LLP

Whirlpool Foundation

Barker Center for Economic Education

Berry Center for Economic Education

Central Ohio Center for Economic Education

EconomicsAmerica Cleveland Center of Ashland University

Economics Center for Education and Research

Gill Center for Business and Economic Education

Northwest Center for Economic Education

Wright State University Center for Economic Education

Paula Aveni

Jim Cummins

Carlton Dargusch

Anna Dejulio

Abbejean Kehler

Dennis Lupher

Virginia Moore

Bill Muthig

Nothing we do would be possible without partners and sponsors.
Their investment in Ohio’s Children and communities truly matter.

Our 2009 Program at a Glance

Increasingly, Ohio teachers are being asked to teach economics, though many have never taken an economics course before. OCEE exists to make up for that lack. We leverage every bit of our efforts toward seeing that all Ohio students have the opportunity to learn about our economic system and how they can make it work for them. We do this by building state standards, developing teaching materials, preparing teachers to teach children, and by making sure our state leaders know that this is important for Ohio: Ohio communities, Ohio businesses, Ohio families and Ohio children.

In order to better serve Ohio children, teachers, and citizens, in 2009 the Ohio Council on Economic Education will –

Strengthen Our Partnerships:
With the Ohio Treasurer’s Office, Ohio Department of Education, Ohio Social Studies Resource Center, Our network of nine, university-based Centers for Economic Education, the Ohio Council for the Social Studies, National Council on Economic Education, Citigroup and the Indiana & Kentucky Councils for Economic Education, The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Ohio Insurance Institute, and State Farm Insurance.

Sustain and Expand Program Initiatives:
Such as Strive to Drive (S2D), the Stock Market Game (SMG), Personal Finance Teachers Academys, our Membership Drive, and a series of Public Service Announcements.

Continue Successful Initiatives:
The Ohio High School Economics Challenge, our annual Program Audit of Centers, partnerships with the Ohio Department of Education, and potential funding through the Attorney Generals Office.

Summation: Leadership for Ohio
No other organization exists to meet the economic education needs of all Ohio children. Your support is vital to helping us make a positive, life-long impact on teachers and students for the future success of our communities.

Ohio Students learn about Entrepreneurship, and Building and Managing a Business, through the creation of a classroom “Cookie Company” in Fall 2007.

Why Teach Children Economics?

We know that learning economics helps students understand our history, government, and culture - but it teaches them valuable skills as well. In Ohio, economic education helps young people learn to make decisions about resources, to understand work and careers, and to develop the habit of innovative thinking. These principles don’t just deal with money and jobs, they are at the core of decisions we make every day – decisions that will shape their lives far beyond graduation. Decisions young people will some day use to shape our state and our nation.

We rely on schools to equip our children with an understanding of important free market principles and how they play out in our everyday lives. In Ohio, schools are able to provide these lessons in critical thinking across the curriculum because of the work and leadership of the Ohio Council on Economic Education.

For over fifty years, the Council has worked with teachers, state officials, various education organizations, and Ohio businesses to ensure that our state curriculum includes meaningful standards for economic understanding. Our efforts provide teachers with access to resources, so they can discover and implement innovative classroom practices and activities. We provide communities with the expertise and support they need to make system-wide, sustainable changes in their schools.