Purdue Center for Economics Educations awards 2017-18 mini-grants to area teachers

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue Center for Economic Education is pleased to announce the winners of its annual Mini-Grants, which are awarded competitively and available for up to $800 per project.

The following teachers and schools were awarded funding for their 2017-18 economic education projects:  

* Sarah Bollock, Lafayette Christian School, for Colonial Marketplace Simulation Springs to Life, a multi-faceted role-playing activity in which students research colonial life and trades and apply economic concepts in a marketplace simulation.

* Aaron Neblett, Lafayette Jefferson High School, for The Stable: LJHS Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a program to create a unique entrepreneurial incubator involving over 150 students in seven different courses.

* Rose Sgambelluri, Boston Middle School in LaPorte, for Brew'n Café, an in-school beverage shop in which students in the life skills program learn economic concepts and entrepreneurial skills by operating a small business.

* Michelle Tuinstra, Lafayette Christian School, for Expand the Vision 2017, a student career planning program that builds upon a career fair put on by the school in April 2017 that was partially funded by a 2016-17 PCEE Mini-Grant.

“Mini-grants are made available annually to help teachers and schools fund effective and motivating curriculum projects to promote economic education in K-12 classrooms,” says David Perkis, director of the Purdue Center for Economic Education, also known as PCEE. “This year, we are especially excited that several mini-grants align with PCEE’s current research and engagement efforts in career education and entrepreneurship.”

Teachers leading two of the mini-grants, the Stable and Brew’n Café, also will receive financial and consulting support through the Classroom Business Enterprise (CBE).  CBE, a program offered jointly by PCEE and the Indiana Council for Economic Education, provides funds and training for teachers to start real businesses with their students.

The Purdue Center for Economic Education, which is housed in the Krannert School of Management, is celebrating more than 50 years as a national leader in economic literacy. Since its inception in 1966, the PCEE has exemplified the spirit of its mission to maintain and enhance Purdue’s national leadership position in the field of economic education and directly offer services to school systems in Tippecanoe and surrounding counties. 

Purdue News Service: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu 

Source: David Perkis, perkis@purdue.edu