Northeast Florida

North Florida/ First Coast Region

In 1975 Florida became the tenth state to require economic education. By 1983 a one-semester economics course offered at high school level was mandated by the legislature. This singular course requirement provided the catalyst for economics programs, training, and cross-curricula programming. The UNF Center for Economic Education was begun in 1977 to assist school districts with programming and teacher training in economic concepts.

Economic Education Workshops

The Center for Economic Education helps meet free enterprise and economic education programming needs for the counties in Northeast Florida predominantly in all the school districts within Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, Taylor and Union Counties for training and information, in addition to requests from neighboring counties - Hamilton, Baker, Columbia, Union, Bradford, Lafayette, Taylor, Gilchrist, Putnam and Dixie for training and information, and SMG for economic education PreK-12 for public, private and home school teachers.

Summer Workshop Schedule

Join us for our Summer Workshop Series at the Jacksonville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank.

Water and Resources in Northeast Florida
Grades 6-12
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Keeping it local. This one day workshop will engage participants in understanding the issues about water and other resources in a time of uncertainty for northeast Florida. Training on the issues will be conducted by University of North Florida faculty. Teachers will also participate in active-learning lessons for teaching about water and resource issues in the classroom. Register

The Economics of the Great Depression
Grades 9-12
Thursday, July 10, 2008
8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

History holds many economic lessons. The Great Depression is an event that provides the opportunity to teach and learn a great deal about economics- whether you’re studying the economics reasons that the Depression took place, the factors that helped it come to an end, or the impact on Americans who lived through it. This curriculum is designed to provide teachers with economic lessons that they can share with their students to help them understand this significant experience in U.S. history. Register

Building Wealth: Teaching Personal Finance
Grades 9-12
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

A beginner’s guide to securing your financial future! This one day workshop trains teachers in the use of Building Wealth, a personal finance education resource that can be used in the classroom to help young people develop a plan for building personal wealth. It presents an overview of personal wealth-building strategies that includes setting financial goals, budgeting, saving and investing, managing debt, and understanding credit reports and credit scores.
Register

Katrina’s Classroom: Financial Lessons from a Hurricane
Grades 9-12
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Hurricane Katrina can help your students make financial decisions for life. Educators receive instruction in using Katrina’s Classroom, a DVD-based curriculum to teach students the importance of being financially prepared. Through the eyes of three teenagers, students will learn about some of the most important aspects of financial responsibility, such as budgeting, banking, savings, and the wise use of credit. The curriculum is tied to financial literacy standards.
Register

Making Sense of Money and Banking
Grades 9-12
Wednesday and Thursday, July 23-24, 2008
8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

So, you want to know about money? This two day introductory professional development course for educators of all related disciplines is designed to introduce teachers to the basics of teaching students about money, banking, and the Federal Reserve System. Emphasis is placed on strategies for active and collaborative learning designed to meet state standards for economics and personal finance. Register

Contact : Sara Messina
904-632-1133 sara.messina@atl.frb.org

Dr. John Mundy
Assistant Director, Center for Economic Education
john.mundy@unf.edu
FAX: (904) 620-1300

Additional Resources

The Center maintains a resource library for teachers and university students. In addition to the library, services to teachers include: training in economic concepts and teaching methods in economics; correlation of guides for curriculum; and projects in areas such as career development, energy education, and integration of economic concepts into other disciplines, e.g., social studies, language, arts, mathematics, and vocational education. Workshops, seminars, and special school training for teachers are developed with the support of each county involved in the service area.

Among the special programs offered through the Center are mini-grant monies to teachers and school districts for special projects, and staff training support through the center.

Opportunities through State Awards, local presentations, and professional training enable teachers to integrate economic education concepts into classrooms from kindergarten through grade twelve curriculum wherever possible.