MINNESOTA STATE COUNCIL ON ECONOMIC EDUCATION
116 RUTTAN HALL 1994 BUFORD AVE, ST PAUL, MN 55108 www.mcee.umn.edu

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Organizations Filed Purposes: MCEE EQUIPS MINNESOTANS WITH THE ECONOMIC AND PERSONAL FINANCIAL UNDERSTANDING NEEDED TO SUCCEED IN TODAY'S COMPLEX ECONOMY. WE FULFILL OUR MISSION BY TEACHING TEACHERS THROUGH TOP QUALITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROVIDING CURRICULUM MATERIALS; BY ENGAGING STUDENTS WITH CHALLENGING PROGRAMS IN ECONOMIC AND PERSONAL FINANCE EDUCATION; AND BY REACHING COMMUNITIES THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY MENTORSHIP FOR FINANCIAL CAPABILITY PROGRAM AND OTHER PUBLIC OUTREACH ACTIVITIES.

MCEE'S TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES DRAMATICALLY INCREASED THEIR REACH AND IMPACT DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. IN FACT, MCEE BECAME A NATIONAL LEADER AMONG STATE COUNCILS IN OFFERING ONLINE OPTIONS FOR TEACHERS TO CONTINUE LEARNING AND DEVELOPING THEIR PERSONAL FINANCE AND ECONOMIC SKILLS DURING THE PANDEMIC. DURING THE PANDEMIC, MCEE OFFERED BOTH FAMILIAR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS AND PIONEERED NEW WORKSHOPS TO INTEGRATE TECHNOLOGY INTO ECONOMICS AND PERSONAL FINANCE EDUCATION, ENCOURAGE STUDENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP, AND EQUIP TEACHERS TO DELIVER ECONOMICS AND PERSONAL FINANCE LESSONS IN WAYS APPROPRIATE TO DISTANCE LEARNING. BY THE END OF FY2020, MCEE HAD SIGNIFICANTLY EXCEEDED ITS EARLIER FORECASTS OF TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES PROVIDED AND THE NUMBER OF TEACHERS REGISTERING FOR THEM. IN FY2020, 1,117 MINNESOTA TEACHERS AVAILED THEMSELVES TO 96 WORKSHOPS, 61 OFFERED BY THE MCEE AND ITS AFFILIATED CENTERS FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION THROUGHOUT MINNESOTA, AND 35 FREE WEBINARS PROVIDED THROUGH ITS NATIONAL AFFILIATE, THE COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC EDUCATION, AND PROMOTED TO MINNESOTA TEACHERS THROUGH MCEE. THE TEACHER NUMBERS REPRESENT AN OVER 100 PERCENT INCREASE IN REGISTRATIONS RELATIVE TO FISCAL YEARS 2019 AND 2018. THESE WORKSHOPS PROVIDED 366 HOURS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING TO INCREASE THE KNOWLEDGE AND CONFIDENCE OF K-12 TEACHERS. SPRING AND EARLY SUMMER 2020, MCEE SUCCESSFULLY TRANSITIONED ITS ENTIRE STUDENT PROGRAMMING TO ONLINE PLATFORMS. WHILE COVID-19 LED TO A DECLINE IN STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN OUR COMPETITIONS AND IN THE MATH AND ECONOMICS AFTERSCHOOL AND SUMMER PROGRAMS, OVERALL PARTICIPATION IN OUR 19 STUDENT PROGRAMS WAS STILL SIGNIFICANT AT 1,541 STUDENTS. MOREOVER, THOSE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS PARTICIPATING EXPRESSED GRATITUDE TO MCEE FOR CONTINUING TO OFFER THESE REWARDING EXPERIENCES UNDER CHALLENGING CONDITIONS. AMONG OUR DIRECT TO STUDENT PROGRAMS, THE GREATEST SUCCESS IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19 WAS THE TRANSITION OF OUR COLLEGE DOLLARS & SENSE INTENSIVE, ONE-WEEK SUMMER YOUTH PERSONAL FINANCE INSTITUTE TO ONLINE DELIVERY. WE REACHED MORE STUDENTS THAN THROUGH OUR TRADITIONAL IN-PERSON PROGRAM AND EVALUATIONS WERE VERY POSITIVE. SEVERAL OF THE NONPROFIT AGENCIES WE WORK WITH THROUGH THE COMMUNITY MENTORSHIP PROGRAM (CMP) EXPERIENCED VERY NEGATIVE EFFECTS FROM THE PANDEMIC: DIFFICULTY IN SERVING THEIR CLIENTS, FINANCIAL IMPACTS, AND HIGH STAFF TURNOVER AND/OR LAYOFFS. MCEE, WORKING WITH OUR UMN EXTENSION EDUCATOR PARTNERS, HAD AS OUR GOAL TO ASSIST EACH ORGANIZATION IN REDESIGNING THEIR COMMUNITY MENTORSHIP PLAN AND ADJUSTING THEIR TIMELINE TO MEET THEIR GOALS WITHIN THE NEW CONSTRAINTS. WE ALSO OFFERED EDUCATIONAL, INFORMATIONAL AND REFERRAL RESOURCES TO ASSIST THE ORGANIZATIONS WITH ANY MORE IMMEDIATE PANDEMIC-RELATED CHALLENGES THEIR CLIENTS FACE. FIVE OF EIGHT AGENCIES IN THE 2019-2020 COHORT COMPLETED THEIR COMMUNITY MENTORSHIP FINANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION PROJECTS. WHILE THERE ARE NO INCOME QUALIFICATIONS FOR MOST MCEE PROGRAMMING AND WE SERVE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS STATEWIDE, FOR THE PAST 15 YEARS MCEE HAS INCREASINGLY DELIVERED TARGETED PROGRAMS, OR DONE SPECIAL RECRUITMENT FOR EXISTING PROGRAMS, AIMED AT COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND UNDERSERVED STUDENT AND ADULT POPULATIONS. AMONG THESE PROGRAMS ARE THE FOLLOWING:COMMUNITY MENTORSHIP: BUILDING FINANCIAL LITERACY IN COMMUNITIES (SINCE 2005).MATHEMATICS AND ECONOMICS (SINCE 2010), HISTORICALLY SERVING TWIN CITIES' AREA PUBLIC SCHOOLS BY TRAINING SCHOOL STAFF AND PROVIDING CURRICULUM. COLLEGE DOLLARS & SENSE: PERSONAL FINANCE FOR LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL (SINCE 2013, FOCUSING ON YOUTH FROM GROUPS UNDERREPRESENTED IN HIGHER EDUCATION. FOSTERING FUTURE ENTREPRENEURS (SINCE 2017), IMMERSING TEACHERS IN DESIGN THINKING AND LEAN STARTUP METHODOLOGY CONCEPTS USING A HANDS-ON CURRICULUM TO PROMOTE ENTREPRENEURSHIP WITH THEIR STUDENTS. RESEARCH SHOWS THAT ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS AN ECONOMIC "LEVELER" FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR AND IMMIGRANTS.THE URBAN ECONOMICS CHALLENGE (SINCE 2017), A REGIONAL COMPETITION THAT FOCUSES ON INCREASING DIVERSITY IN TWIN CITIES AND STATE STUDENT COMPETITIONS.LEARNING TOGETHER, THRIVING TOGETHER (LTTT): PERSONAL FINANCE FOR DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATIONS (SINCE 2017), NOW REFERRED TO AS CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PERSONAL FINANCE (CRPF), AIMS TO TRAIN MINNESOTA'S TEACHERS TO DELIVER CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE ECONOMICS AND PERSONAL FINANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION.THE CENTER FOR DIVERSITY IN ECONOMICS (MCDE; SINCE 2018), OUR NEWEST AFFILIATED CENTER, WITH A STATEWIDE FOCUS, EXISTS TO ENSURE THAT PEOPLE OF ALL BACKGROUNDS LEAD AND INFLUENCE ECONOMIC RESEARCH AND DECISION-MAKING. MCEE COLLABORATES WITH MCDE TO PROMOTE AND SUPPORT GENDER AND RACIAL DIVERSITY IN ECONOMICS AT EVERY STAGE OF THE EDUCATIONAL AND CAREER PIPELINE.

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