Vienna Grade School Students Win in the Econ Illinois Stock Market Game
Vienna, Illinois – After developing a stock portfolio that propelled them to the front of the class, Vienna Grade School 8th grade students, Dalton Herring, Zach Caraker, Alex Board, and Austin Cole placed 7th in the Spring, 2024 Econ Illinois Stock Market Game program’s online portfolio simulation in the Land of Lincoln Region (124 teams). This VGS team also placed 56th out of 2,278 state-wide competitive teams. Three of thirteen VGS eighth grade teams competing finished within the top fifty teams in our respective region. Competition between student teams throughout Illinois drew to a close April 12th, 2024, with the highest valued portfolios receiving awards.
In a little less than three months of trading, the 7th place VGS stock market game team earned $23,840 which equates to 13.4% growth. Two of the thirteen VGS teams outperformed the Dow, Nasdaq and the S & P 500 for the same period while the other eleven VGS teams earned modest growth during this time of unstable market fluctuations. This is the ninth year that Jr. High Vienna Grade School students have competed in the Econ Illinois Stock Market Game as a part of the Jr. High Leadership Course that is offered to all 8th grade students. The Jr. High Leadership Course focuses on researching post-secondary and career choice options (www.educationplanner.org and www.schoollinks.com), leadership theory (Maxwell, Gordon, and Covey among others), social-emotional learning standards, and developing future leaders, as led by Dr. Greg Frehner, school social workers Harley Palmer and Debbie Wiley .
The Econ Illinois Stock Market Game (SMG) program is used in thousands of classrooms nationwide to help teach core academic subjects while emphasizing the importance of long-term saving and investing. Students work together in teams to conduct research, invest their hypothetical $100,000 cash account and manage their portfolio over time. Through their participation, student teams gain practical knowledge about the markets, learning such concepts as risk and diversification. While the students think they are playing a game, they are truly learning real-life economic and financial skills that will benefit them for years to come. The SMG program is offered to Illinois teachers by Econ Illinois, a statewide organization associated with Northern Illinois University. Since its inception in Illinois in 1988, the SMG program has enrolled more than 700,000 Illinois students. Participation is offered without financial cost through numerous sponsorships. Nationally, the SMG program is provided by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMAA). Congratulations to the 2023 Econ Illinois Stock Market Game Teams from Vienna Grade School for their outstanding stock market investing!
