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Council for Economic Education National 2009 Conference

Sandy Wheat, Executive Director, attended the National Conference for Economic Education held in Washington, D.C. representing the North Carolina Council.

2009 Annual Conference Brings National attention to the Importance of Turning Today’s Economic Crisis into a Teachable Moment From October 7th through the 9th, the 2009 Annual Conference of the Council for Economic Education (CEE), National Association of Economic Educators (NAEE) and the Global Association of Teachers of Economics (GATE) was held in Washington, DC.

The conference, which was the largest nationwide annual gathering of advocates and educators in the field of K-12 economic and financial education, featured dozens of presentations, workshops and events aimed at raising the levels of economic and financial literacy among young people. More than 500 top economic educators, industry thought-leaders and K-12 teachers from across the U.S. and around the globe attended.

The major theme of the this year’s Conference was Turning Today’s Economic Crisis into a Teachable Moment, a theme addressed by the keynote speaker, U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. The current financial crisis and deep recession underscore the need to make economic and financial education a priority in our nation’s schools.

"I believe we should think of financial education and economic education as being inherently intertwined," said Jeffrey Lacker, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, another featured speaker. "How, for instance, does one adequately consider home buying versus renting without understanding the concept of opportunity cost? This isn’t to say that financial education is only about economic education – clearly it isn’t, but economic education is an important component."

The conference featured:

• The latest in curriculum development, instructional materials, teaching strategies, new programs and best practices.
• Professional development workshops and sessions for K-12 teachers.
• Outstanding speakers on current economic topics.
• Hands-on technology sessions in a dedicated computer lab.
• Networking opportunities for economic and personal finance educators and K-12 teachers, and others with an interest in the field.

This year’s speakers, from the highest levels of government, business and the financial community included:

• Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, U.S. Department of Education
• Jeffrey Lacker, President, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
• Michelle Green, Deputy Asst. Secretary for Financial Education, U.S. Department of the Treasury
• Kevin Jennings, Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, U.S. Department of Education
• Matthew Yale, Deputy Chief of Staff, U.S. Department of Education
• Harold W. McGraw III, Chairman, President and CEO, The McGraw-Hill Companies
• Pete Jones, Mid-Atlantic Regional President, Wells Fargo

"We are honored to have such high-level advocates lend their voices to the growing number of policy makers and business leaders who are dedicated to K-12 economic and financial education," said Joseph Peri, CEE Acting President & CEO. "Their commitment to this issue means a lot to the 200+ K-12 teachers who attended the conference. These teachers will return to their classrooms invigorated with the inspiration, skills and resources they need to empower their students to make sound economic and financial choices in their own lives."

The presenting sponsors of the conference were The McGraw-Hill Companies and Wells Fargo, and the Verizon Foundation was the technology resource sponsor.