McAuliffe announces 2017 Governor’s Challenge Champions in Economic and Personal Finance

Governor Terry McAuliffe announced the winners of the 2017 Governor’s Challenge in Economics and Personal Finance.

The winners emerged from a pool of 148 students who participated in a day-long championship competition held at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) on April 26. Those students were selected from the more than 2,500 high school students, from all across the Commonwealth, who took part in the open, online competition.

“I would like to congratulate all of the winners of the 2017 Governor’s Challenge in Economics and Personal Finance,” Governor McAuliffe said. “Developing and honing skills in personal finance and sound economic decision-making are essential to ensuring life-long success in the new Virginia economy.  These are the kinds of high-demand skills that employers the world over are looking for, and the winners we are announcing today prove that the Commonwealth is ready to answer that call.”

Teams competing in the Personal Finance division were required to develop recommendations based on a case study. Teams competing in the Economics divisions faced off in a Quiz Bowl.

This year’s winners are:

David Ricardo Division (Economics)

•   1^st place: Appomattox Regional Governor’s School, Multi-divisions; teacher: Emily Hardesty
•   Runner up:  Glen Allen High School, Henrico County; teacher: Patricia Adams

Adam Smith Division (Advanced Economics)

• 1^st Place:  Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Fairfax County; teacher: Malhaz Jibladze
• Runner up:  Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Fairfax County; teacher: Richard Monteverde

Personal Finance Division

•  1^st Place:  Rappahannock County High School, Rappahannock County; teacher: Linda Petty
•   Runner up:  Greensville County High School, Greensville County; teacher: Courtney Moseley

The Governor’s Challenge is conducted in partnership with the Virginia Council on Economic Education (VCEE), a nonprofit public-private partnership focused on enhancing K-12 economics and financial education.

“Now more than ever, high-quality economic education is a vital part of preparing our students for the demands of the 21^st century workforce,” said Virginia Secretary of Education Dr. Dietra Trent. “As a national leader in developing personal finance requirements for our students, we are committed to preparing students to become smarter and more thoughtful consumers.”

Virginia leads the way in requiring its students to earn a credit in economics and personal finance in order to graduate from high school. VCEE has been a key partner in providing professional development and creative classroom resources to assist teachers who are teaching this course.  The Governor’s Challenge is one of many programs which enhance classroom learning and help build on economic concepts to equip students with skills needed for more informed decision making.

“Congratulations to the winning teams and their teachers and to all of this year’s Governor’s Challenge participants,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Steven R. Staples said. “The challenge is a great opportunity for students to apply what they have learned and for schools to earn recognition for their success in preparing students to be smart consumers, savers, investors, entrepreneurs, and citizens.”

Capital One served as the lead sponsor. Virginia Credit Union provided financial support to make the Governor’s Challenge possible.

Visit www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/economics_personal_finance/index.shtml and www.vcee.org to learn more about the Governor’s Challenge and other efforts to promote economic and financial education for Virginia’s students.