Most people consult their financial advisors for investing tips and strategies. Now you might find the top advisors at your local school. Students from Mississippi School of the Arts, coached by Vickie Malone, were named first place winners in the spring High School division of the Mississippi Stock Market Game (SMG).

The simulation is one of the most effective learning tools available about the free enterprise system for students in grades four through 12. The program enables teams of students to invest a hypothetical $100,000 in the stock market over a 13-week period. Winners are determined on the percentage return above or below S&P 500 growth.

Students who received second place during the fall 2019 semester were Ashlyn Moore, R’kedra Cummings, and Randall Bounds. The spring 2020 teams were:
1st place: Emma Chisolm, Lane Craft, Alexandria Stoll, Kimberly Raines, Jayona Wells; 2nd place: Jessica Luke, Kaitlyn Clayton, Allurie Tyler, Owen Davis, and Abigail Matthews.

“The spring trading session of the Stock Market Game was especially challenging. As a result of COVID-19 the market took a beating and most student portfolios actually decreased in value. However, the winners outperformed the S&P 500, which also fell in value. While the portfolios mostly lost value, this in itself is an important lesson for students to learn and experience. Should they watch the value of their portfolios in the future, it would be interesting to see how the market rebounds,” stated MCEE president, Selena Swartzfager.

MCEE awarded prizes to each first and second place team in each region from each division.

The curriculum used in the SMG is correlated with Mississippi College and Career Ready Standards, and meets the criteria of a STEM program. Teachers report that math scores increase when the SMG is used in the classroom.

SMG is an online education program used in thousands of classrooms nationwide to help teach math, social studies, business, economics and language skills. Students in grades four through twelve participate in teams and manage a simulated investment portfolio during the school year. The MS Council on Economic Education (MCEE) is doing what we can to support educators in this new environment. For the first time we are offering the Stock Market Game program where students can participate at home. While we primarily offer this program to increase economic and personal finance education, it is a STEM program that allows students to practice their math and technology skills, too

SMG is made possible by the support of more than 600 securities firms, combined with grass-roots support in schools and communities. It is the only stock market simulation supported by the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Sponsors for the Spring 2020 SMG program are Atmos Energy, Bank First, BancorpSouth, CFA Society Mississippi, Regions Bank, and Trustmark National Bank.

About the Mississippi Council for Economic Education-The Mississippi Council for Economic Education (MCEE) envisions a world in which people are empowered through economic, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy to make informed and responsible choices throughout their lives as consumers, savers, investors, workers, citizens, and participants in our global economy.

The MCEE offers comprehensive, K-12 economic, personal finance and entrepreneurial education programs, including the basics of entrepreneurship, consisting of teaching resources across the curriculum, professional development for teachers, and nationally-normed assessment instruments. Programming is delivered largely through the six Centers on Economic Education at Delta State University, Millsaps College, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, University of Mississippi, and the University of Southern Mississippi in partnership with the Mississippi Department of Education. In 16 years, the Council’s programs have reached more than 10,000 K-12 teachers and over 1,000,000 students in Mississippi. The MCEE is affiliated with the 65- year-old Council for Economic Education based in New York City. The MCEE was awarded the “Outstanding State Council” award in 2017. This was the first time the award was given by the Council for Economic Education. A Board of Directors composed of 45 members is responsible for the governance and fund-raising of the MCEE.