The sixth annual University of Delaware CEEE Economic Education Conference, hosted by UD’s Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship in the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, was held in mid-July at the FinTech Innovation Hub, giving local K-12 teachers ideas and tools to use in their classrooms as the new school year approaches.
Teachers chose from among three tracks of concurrent sessions, organized by elementary, middle and high school grade levels throughout the informative day. Regional education experts and masters teachers, most of whom were graduates of UD’s Masters of Arts in Economics and Entrepreneurship for Educators (MA-EEE) program, presented on a variety of topics, broken down into 50-minute sessions.
“The goal of the center is to train educators so that they become better at what they do in the classroom, helping their students to graduate as economically literate and productive citizens,” said Carlos Asarta, CEEE James B. O’Neill Director. “Through this conference, we’re not only bringing in our master’s graduates, but we’re also bringing in teachers from Delaware. So, it’s a great opportunity for us to teach these educators about economics and bring experts to talk about the economy. Then, teachers take all that information and bring it back to their classrooms to help their students understand economics and personal finance better.”
The elementary school tracks included topics such as Kidsize Personal Finance; Water Scarcity – The Economics of Water; History-nomics: Using Economics to Teach History; and Power Plants, PlayStations, and Prices – Oh My!
Middle school tracks included Protections or Peril: Property Rights, Careers in Economics Video Lessons, Equitable Economics: Inclusive Teaching, and Teaching About Interest.
Careers in Economics Video Lessons, Economic Foundation with Playdoh, How Care Insurance Works, and Reasonably Unreasonable: Behavioral Economics were the high school level tracks.
“During the school year, teachers are in their classrooms and they don’t have a chance to talk with other economic educators around the state. So this is a great opportunity for them to do that, and they leave with a lot of valuable materials to use in their classrooms,” said Bonnie Meszaros, who recently retired as associate director of the CEEE and is currently their elementary school program coordinator.
After a pair of morning sessions, a keynote address was given by Dr. Luke Tilley, chief economist and head of asset allocation and quantitative services for Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors (WTIA), a part of M&T Bank.
Combining the 12 concurrent sessions and the hour-long keynote address, teachers left the conference equipped with the tools, knowledge and lesson plans to teach economics concepts to their students this upcoming school year. They appreciated the opportunity to meet fellow educators in person to discuss new and innovative ways to deliver economics education to their students.
“It’s a great opportunity for educators to be able to come to the University of Delaware and learn about all the new things that are going on in personal finance and financial literacy. It’s great for us to be able to incorporate these things in our classrooms, where it really makes a difference in the lives of our students, their families, and our communities,” Jay Davis, CTE Education Specialist in Smyrna School District, remarked.
“It’s been great to network with fellow educators throughout the country, and all the great resources we can put into the classrooms. So it’s very rewarding for us as educators to be able to attend this event.”
CEEE staff members Scott Bacon, Sarah Johnson, Amy Krzyzanowski and Meszaros each delivered presentations during the day, as did Scott Abbott, a policy scientist for civics education and assistant director of the Delaware Center for Civics Education at the Institute for Public Administration (IPA) in the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration, and Erin Yetter, assistant professor in the Lerner department of economics.
Jennifer O’Neill Given Bonnie T. Meszaros Economic Educator of the Year Award
Jennifer O’Neill, a 2013 UD MA–EEE grad and teacher at St. Mark’s High School, was honored at the conference as the 2024 Bonnie T. Meszaros Educator of the Year.
The award is given annually to a Delaware teacher who exemplifies the best qualities in teaching, professional learning, and economic education program development.
O’Neill previously taught at Concord High School where she and former CEEE staffer Barbara Emery developed a very successful and popular math and personal finance course. She also created an in-school Entrepreneur Club, fostering the establishment of dozens of student-run businesses, owners of which offered their wares at monthly school marketplaces held during lunch periods.
At both Concord and St. Mark’s, O’Neill has organized an in-school assembly by inviting Funding the Future, a rock concert that travels across the country inspiring students to become financially literate through musical performance and engaging presentation.
Her students have often been selected as Delaware Bankers Association Keys to Finance Success essay winners, rewarded for their thoughtful and inspiring opinions on the importance of personal finance education.
O’Neill is a regular attendee of CEEE-produced professional development, encouraging colleagues of various disciplines to join her for CEEE topical seminars so that they might explore how important and timely economics- and personal finance-related issues can be incorporated into their own classes.