The COCEE Annual Report is prepared during the summer, and is available for review in September of each year.
2006-2007 Program Report
New Adventures and Successes -
Personal Finance Teachers Academies – We had an amazing opportunity to partner with the Ohio Council on Economic Education, Ohio Department of Education (ODE) and the Ohio Treasurer of State to offer two Personal Finance Teachers Academies this summer. As a result of underwriting by COCEE and ODE, we were able to offer teachers in Central Ohio the opportunity to attend our programs, and still have a waiting list of over 60 teachers. In addition to Central Ohio , eleven Academies were offered around the state. This program has become a high priority with schools because of the passage of Senate Bill 311, mandating economics and personal finance education for every student by 2011.
Money, Markets & Moguls – With the help and support of Citi Corp, students and teachers in South-Western City Schools experienced a two-hour interactive group activity that had them creating Mammoth Burgers, earning Flinks, and spending their hard-earned Flinks on baseball caps and community projects – earning their teacher a $50 gift card to buy equipment or books for the class. These 4 th graders had jumped into the world of one of the first entrepreneurs, Ump, a cartoon character created to teach about entrepreneurship, production, profit and income. We will be visiting an additional 2-3, 4 th grade classrooms in Columbus Public Schools this coming fall to engage them in working, earning, learning and spending. This project is a partnership with the Kentucky Council for Economic Education.
“Economics, Dinner & A Movie ” – We offered two showings this past year: First, the Upper Arlington Public Library asked COCEE to present The World is Flat to their audience. This was a great opportunity to reach out to community members with information about our programs. Second, for educators, we viewed a C-Span Book Talk of Stephen Levitt with his book, Freakonomics. We look forward to additional rounds of this engaging means of introducing teachers to our materials and programs.
Stock Market Simulation – For many years we have provided area schools with opportunities to learn about the investment & equities markets through an online stock portfolio competition. We were delighted to have the sponsorship of the Kiwanis Club of Columbus this year for our cash prizes. In the fall of 2007 we will be “kicking it up a notch” and moving to a simulation sponsored by the Securities Industry Foundation – the Stock Market Game – which hosts a greatly expanded online support service for the participating teachers.
Classroom Teaching/Student Learning Improvement – The most effective activities we promote and offer are based around teacher professional development. Ohio has a tested curriculum in economics for grades K-12 grade – the subject is on the Ohio Graduation Tests (OGT) as well as the Ohio Achievement Tests (OATs). We offer a wide range of choices to meet district and classroom needs with high quality materials and teacher training for effective use of these materials. Districts that have been provided with Center programs and materials note an improvement in student scores on the social studies tests as a result.
Quick Notes
- We were very excited to have the Ohio State University Department of Economics Chair, Dr. Masanori Hashimoto, join COCEE’s Board.
- We donated a primary (K-2) and an intermediate (3-5) Economics Toolkit for the Classroom, or ETC Kit, to Weinland Park Elementary.
- Professor Greg Brock from the Georgia Southern University, will spend his sabbatical in the fall of 2007 with COCEE to learn more about our programs and operations. This is quite an honor in the academic world.
- Abbejean Kehler , the Center’s Executive Director, was trained on brand new teaching strategies accompanying the book Teaching the Ethical Foundations of Economics, and will offer the first workshops and materials to teachers this fall. She continues to serve on the Columbus Saves Board, a group that encourages savings by individuals and shares strategies for being successful.
- We had a lot of fun with three graduate courses for teachers this year: SWIFT, sponsored by Dublin City Schools; Personal Finance integrated with Social Studies, sponsored by Columbus Public Schools ; and Chocolate by Design, a particularly tasty course sponsored by South-Western City schools which integrated economics into the curriculum using chocolate as a theme.
2007 Program Sponsors
Without your support, our programs could not reach Central Ohio Children. Thank You!
Columbus Public Schools - Citigroup - Dublin City Schools - Delaware Union Educational Service Center - Franklin Park Conservatory - GBQ Partners, LLC - Huntington National Bank - Kentucky Council on Economic Education - KeyBank - Kiwanis Club of Columbus - National Council on Economic Education - Nationwide Foundation - Ohio Council on Economic Education - Ohio Department of Education - The Ohio State University College of Education & Human Ecology, School of PAES - OSU Office of International Affairs - Ohio Treasurer of State - South-Western City Schools - Upper Arlington Public Library
LeeRoy Bentley - Steve Chenenko - Robert Harless - Lawrence Heath - Scott D. Kleinman - Adam Knepp - Daniel Lowrie - Steven L. Miller - Mary Patton - Abbejean Kehler
2007 Program Report - What Really Works!
| Activity | Programs | Participants |
| Graduate Credit Courses | 3 | 30 Teachers |
| Undergraduate Credit Courses | 2 | 53 Students/Participants |
| Programs for Adults | 3 | 105 Participants |
| In-Services & Workshops | 12 | 371 Teachers |
| Personal Finance Teachers Acadey | 1 | 39 Teachers/Participants |
| Stock Market Simulation | 2 | 1518 Students/369 Teams |