TOWSON – More than 100 elementary, middle and high school students from 17 Maryland counties have won the statewide financial literacy and economics competitions coordinated by the Maryland Council on Economic Education (MCEE). The winners were honored May 17 at a luncheon and awards ceremony attended by more than 350 students, family members, sponsors and leaders at Towson University. Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller gave a keynote presentation.

More than 20,000 students from 20 Maryland counties and Baltimore City participated in MCEE-organized competitions this school year - the highest student participation in MCEE’s annual programs in more than 12 years. 

Among the winners was North Dorchester Middle School sixth grader Caliope Kronner, who won the Personal Finance & Economics Poster Competition.

Awards were presented to winners in these competitions:

• Stock Market Game (SMG): an educational simulation that teaches about the stock markets, the American economic system and the global economy. Teams of students create and manage an imaginary $100,000 portfolio - striving to achieve the highest return on investment - while developing skills in math, language arts, research and critical thinking. 
• InvestWrite Essay Competition: a national writing competition that reinforces the economic concepts students learned by participating in the Stock Market Game. 
• Maryland Personal Finance Challenge: an academic competition that provides high school teams from across the state with the opportunity to learn and demonstrate knowledge and application of personal finance concepts during a one-day academic competition. The challenge is sponsored by M&T, WesBanco, State Farm, Aberdeen Proving Ground Federal Credit Union, First Financial Federal Credit Union, and Towson University
• The Maryland Economics Challenge: the only program of its kind that tests micro and macroeconomic principles as well as knowledge of the world economy in one-day competitions. 
• Personal Finance Poster Competition: a creative competition where students demonstrate their understanding of economic concepts.

These competitions are coordinated by the Maryland Council on Economic Education, the nonprofit that helps make sure Maryland's children graduate high school with the economic and financial literacy knowledge and decision-making skills they need to make informed decisions as adults. In addition to student programs, MCEE offers free professional development and financial literacy education training and lesson plans for educators. Based on the campus of Towson University, MCEE supports more than 2,000 teachers each year who reach over 11,000 Maryland students.

MCEE Executive Director Julie Weaver said, “The winning students from these statewide competitions should be proud of this wonderful accomplishment. They have creatively illustrated their understanding of personal finance and economics concepts and are a testament to how important this kind of learning is for all children.”