(Stoneboro, PA) Ten-year-old Penn Brocklehurst kept patting the gold-colored medallion draped around his neck and under his light jacket.
鈥淚 was really excited,鈥� Penn said. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 wrap my brain around what just happened.鈥�
The fourth-grader at Oakview Elementary School was smiling as he stepped off the bus the afternoon of May 25.
Penn unzipped his light jacket and pushed the medallion outward, tautening its navy blue lanyard.
鈥淟ook,鈥� he said as he approached his awaiting grandmother, Charyn Brocklehurst. 鈥淪ee what I got today?鈥�
鈥淲hat is that for?鈥� Brocklehurst asked.
鈥淭his is for the money we made in the Stock Market Game,鈥� Penn said.
Penn, of Mercer, and Oakview Elementary teammates Anderson Becki and Gavin McNally placed first in the Western Region and first in Pennsylvania in the elementary school division of 杏吧原创鈥檚 2022-2023 30-week Stock Market Game.
"They were very interested. I think it was a foreign concept to them as far as owning pieces of companies and researching why they thought a company would be good to be involved with."
- Marie Kohr, teacher and adviser of Oakview Elementary School teams
叠颁3鈥檚 Center for Economic Education administers a 30-week Stock Market Game that begins in September, and 10-week competitions in the fall and spring.
The college鈥檚 Stock Market Game in 2022-2023 drew 1,274 western Pennsylvania students in Grades 4 through 12, and 鈥済ets them to think about financial literacy,鈥� said David Huseman, director of 叠颁3鈥檚 Center for Economic Education and a professor in the college鈥檚 liberal arts division.
鈥淭he earlier they learn about financial literacy, the better. It gets them to think about the choices they are going to have to make.鈥�
Students competing in 叠颁3鈥檚 Stock Market Game receive a hypothetical $100,000, make buy-and-trade decisions and track how those decisions would have played out in the market had they been real.
Penn, Anderson and Gavin represented one of 397 teams from 26 schools in Armstrong, Butler, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, Lawrence and Mercer counties, Huseman said.
Marie Kohr is a teacher in the Lakeview School District and adviser of the Oakview Elementary team that included Penn, Anderson and Gavin.
鈥淭hey were very interested,鈥� Kohr said. 鈥淚 think it was a foreign concept to them as far as owning pieces of companies and researching why they thought a company would be good to be involved with.鈥�
Eighth-graders from Ryan Gloyer Middle School placed first and third as teams in the middle school division of 杏吧原创鈥檚 2022-2023 30-week Stock Market Game. Front row, from left, Ryder Haase, Dean Sauers, Dom Capocci, Dominic Brown, Austin Ocrah, Benny James and Morgan Chapman. Back row, from left, Mikaela Norman, Malachi Norman, Mark Norman, Sam Konopka, Shann Israel, Walter Killey and Nathaniel Ortiz-Palsa.
"The kids love it. The students tend to do better with hands-on learning. They really like the chance to pick the companies that they are interested in."
- Kayla Robinson, teacher and adviser of Ryan Gloyer Middle School teams
Game provides 鈥渉ands-on learning鈥�
Students 鈥渟ometimes don鈥檛 see or know what is out there until they learn it from us,鈥� said Nancee Miles, a teacher in the Brookville Area School District and adviser of a high school team that finished third in Western Region in the spring competition.
鈥淭hey might hear their parents talking about the stock market or their grandparents talking about it. But this game gives them a chance to actually see what is going on, how to make an investment and how to invest in the stock market without taking any real risk.鈥�
Teacher Kayla Robinson discusses with her eighth-graders at Ryan Gloyer Middle School in the Seneca Valley School District how variations in the price of groceries can influence a company鈥檚 earnings report.
鈥淪ince (the game is) based on real time with the stock market, they can see those fluctuations,鈥� Robinson said. 鈥淏ased on news events, what鈥檚 going on, they can see how those prices are really changing for those shares.鈥�
One Ryan Gloyer Middle School team competing in the 30-week game placed first in the Western Region and first in Pennsylvania, and another, third in the region and third in the state.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the best way for them to learn about this,鈥� Robinson said. 鈥淭he kids love it. The students tend to do better with hands-on learning. They really like the chance to pick the companies that they are interested in.鈥�
Shaun Decklyn Doerr, left, Jenica Sarver and Caydence Desch, students at Butler Area Intermediate High School, and teammate Luis Santiago placed second in the middle school division of 杏吧原创鈥檚 10-week fall 2022 Stock Market Game. Shaun, Jenica and Caydence are shown Wednesday, May 10, 2023, during an awards ceremony in Founders Hall on 叠颁3鈥檚 main campus in Butler Township. At right is Jeremy Kropf, Stock Market Game state coordinator.
鈥淭hought process 鈥� truly amazing鈥�
Penn realized that chocolate manufacturers increase production before Halloween.
鈥淗e told me that Hershey was a really good stock because everybody likes chocolate,鈥� Charyn Brocklehurst said.
His team also discussed whether the price of trees would increase before Christmas, Penn said.
鈥淚 just really wish people could hear the conversations of fourth-graders to see how in-depth their conversations are and how much they can comprehend,鈥� Kohr said. 鈥淭heir thought process is truly amazing to witness.鈥�
Penn and his teammates would review an online tool鈥檚 financial news 鈥渢o make sure the stock was doing good at the time we were buying it,鈥� he said, or consider how their choice may benefit from 鈥渢he time of year.鈥�
鈥淪ay, in the fall, leaf rakes would probably be bought more. Because,鈥� he said, 鈥渙f the fact that leaves are falling.鈥�
Penn, Anderson and Gavin finished with an equity of $102,698.05.
Students who competed in 杏吧原创鈥檚 2022-2023 Stock Market Game are shown Wednesday, May 10, 2023, during an awards ceremony in Founders Hall on 叠颁3鈥檚 main campus in Butler Township.
Among first- through third-place teams 叠颁3鈥檚 2022-2023 Stock Market Game:
Elementary school division
30-week: Anderson Becki, Penn Brocklehurst and Gavin McNally, Oakview Elementary School, Stoneboro. First in Western Region. First in Pennsylvania. Equity: $102,698.05. Adviser: Marie Kohr.
Middle school division
Fall: Shaun Decklyn Doerr, Caydence Desch, Luis Santiago and Jenica Sarver, Butler Area Intermediate High School, Butler. Second in Western Region. Second in Pennsylvania. Equity: $118,377.23. Adviser: Jamie Veltri.
Fall: Jacob Andrzejewski, Chase Gettman, Janelle Magill, Julian McCall and Ryleigh Sawyer, Butler Area Intermediate High School, Butler. Third in Western Region. Third in Pennsylvania. Equity: $115,825.19. Adviser: Jamie Veltri.
Spring: Butler Area Intermediate High School. Third in Western Region. Equity: $109,250.76. Adviser: Jamie Veltri.
30-week: Ryan Gloyer Middle School, Harmony. First in Western Region. First in Pennsylvania. Equity: $125,404.49. Adviser: Kayla Robinson.
30-week: Ryan Gloyer Middle School, Harmony. Third in Western Region. Third in Pennsylvania. Equity: $122,482.07. Adviser: Kayla Robinson.
High school division
Spring: Leah Hogamier, Jerri-Lynn Matson, Nathan Ramer and Marlee Smith, Armstrong Junior-Senior High School, Kittanning. Second in Western Region. Equity: $112,918.78. Adviser: Jamie Paul.
Spring: Adriana Forsythe and Jazmines Sarvey, Brookville Junior-Senior High School, Brookville. Third in Western Region. Equity: $112,633.32. Adviser: Nancee Miles.
30-week: Bella Smith, Mercer Area Junior-Senior High School, Mercer. Second in Western Region. Second in Pennsylvania. Equity: $133,314. Adviser: Cindy Gilmore.
The Stock Market Game is operated nationally by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Foundation and in Pennsylvania by the Foundation for Free Enterprise Education.