CTAE June Newsletter

All things CTAE for Montana

John Stiles Re-elected to DECA Inc. Board of Directors

DECA Inc. (Distributive Education Clubs of America) is pleased to announce the re-election of John Stiles to the DECA Inc. Board of Directors. The International Board of Directors governs DECA Inc. High School and Collegiate programs and policy in all fifty states and nine countries, spanning membership of over 234,000 members in 5,000 classrooms in 3,500 schools across the world who are preparing for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, management, and entrepreneurship. Stiles begins his second three-year term on the 12-member Board of Directors on July 1st. He remains the organization's youngest director in its 75+ year history and the first director from the State of Montana.

Stiles, an alumnus of Montana State University Jake Jabbs College of Business and Entrepreneurship and Bozeman High School, has served as the State Director of Montana DECA since 2015, leading the Chartered Association to record membership, participation and impact. Throughout his tenure, Stiles has served the DECA organization as a State Officer, National Executive Officer, and is currently an officer of the DECA Inc. Board of Directors.

Meet the 2021-2022 BPA State Officer Team

President, Breanna Blain from Joliet. Vice President, Macy Hill from St Regis and Secretary, Dalton Sand from Glasgow

Laurel High School’s Ness Grabs Top 5 Finish
in Stock Market Game

Laurel High School Senior Ryan Ness finished 5th in the Montana Council on Economic Education (MCEE) Stock Market Game out of nearly 300 teams across the state.

The Stock Market Game is an eight-week simulation in which students are given a hypothetical $100,000 to invest in the stock market. Students must have at least five separate stocks and/or mutual funds at the end of the simulation, so research and diversification are crucial for success. Top state winners are given cash awards thanks to the sponsorship of Glacier Bancorp and its Montana family of banks.

Representatives from the MCEE and Glacier Bancorp were on hand at the high school last week to present Ness with his award and prizes.

Ness said the game was part of his Business class at the high school. “This was my second year doing it and I started good last spring, but it went downhill after the COVID hit,” he said.

He said he did not have a real strategy this year and “let the market do its thing,” but he had the foresight to invest in the housing market. “During COVID there were a lot of people moving to different states, so I decided to invest in those markets.”

Ness got close to the top–5 early in the game but dropped down before a late surge put him in 5th place.

Ness’ total equity at the end of the game was $108,492.44 which just edged out classmate Trey Ewalt who took 6th with $108,134.54. The 1st place team ended with $115,047.70.

MCEE Executive Director Dax Schieffer said, “The game is not real life, but it gives students the skills to be successful. The Stock Market Game is fast, but investing is your friend.”

LHS Business and World History teacher Lisa Condon was understandably excited by his strong finish.

“I’m so proud of Ryan! He has participated in the Stock Market Game several times, and this time he made some great choices in what to invest in. He did his research and was patient with his investments. He wasn’t in the top-ranking until that very last day, just edging out a classmate.”

Ness said he has an interest in investing in the market down the road, but after graduation he plans to study Construction Management at City College at MSU–Billings with the goal of running his own company.

Montana Economics Challenge Winners Announced

Students from Missoula, Livingston, and Bozeman finish in top spots

Students across Montana were tested this spring on their economic literacy in microeconomics, macroeconomic principles, and knowledge of the world economy. The top scoring teams will compete regionally with a chance to qualify for the National Economics Challenge held in New York City by the Council for Economic Education.

The Montana Economics Challenge competition is split into two divisions. The Adam Smith division is for returning competitors, AP, and honor students and the David Ricardo division is for first-time competitors with no more than one course in economics.

The top three teams in the Adam Smith division were coached by Steven Klimkiewcz at Hellgate High School in Missoula. The teams shared in cash prizes of over $850, with first place splitting $500.

Joey Lane with Park High School in Livingston repeated as champions in the David Ricardo division with a first-place team qualifying to compete regionally and second place receiving cash prizes and certificates. Third place in the division was earned by students from Petra Academy in Bozeman and coached by Beth Stohlmann.

“We are very proud of our students and teachers who competed this year in what has been a stressful time with uncertainty for educators,” said Montana Council on Economic Education Executive Director Dax Schieffer. “Our board and sponsors believe that student success is built upon the foundation of understanding basic economic fundamentals that will serve learners for years in business and in life, this competition really celebrates smart and motivated students.”

The competition shifted to online this year to observe safety precautions. The online licensing fee and cash prizes were made possible at no fee to schools by generous sponsorships provided by First Interstate Bank, BNSF Railways, Montana Banker’s Association, and the Montana Financial Educators Coalition. As MCEE looks ahead to 2022, the goal will be to host in-person competition and will seek additional financial partners. If interested in supporting economic education, please email mcee@montana.edu.

MCEE Announces Summer Teacher
Economics Seminar Dates

The Montana Council on Economics Education (MCEE) is proud to provide its Economics Teacher Training seminar, July 22 and 23 in Bozeman, on the Montana State University campus.

This course will help educators improve their economics teaching and offers an opportunity to learn best practices from other teachers across Montana. Total course participation will qualify for 14 renewal unit credit hours. With the support of sponsors, MCEE will cover all associated costs for the program, including mileage. Housing will be provided on the MSU campus.

Professors from Montana State University's Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics will assist in building the curriculum. Following previous years, the seminar will spend some time out of the classroom and a Teacher Appreciation Dinner will be hosted the evening of July 22. The programs will focus on current economic research, teaching economics fundamentals, and student engagement ideas/programs.

After such a challenging year for educators, MCEE is very excited to offer an experience to get teachers back together for this professional development opportunity.

As MCEE works toward sharing more details, registration is now open.

Montana FFA Update:

Greetings from the Montana FFA Association.  It looks like we almost went straight from winter to summer with just a glimpse of spring in there.  Regardless of where you live however, it is always nice to see the green grass and warmer temperatures.  Our state officers and members from across the state were very excited to have some in-person experiences this spring.  Schools are concluding another year and chapters have wrapped up their banquets and award sessions.  Thank you to all the Ag programs for “hanging in there” during these challenging times and providing relevant and educational experiences for all their students.  Teachers should be commended for their work during the past year and a half. Montana FFA has a number of upcoming activities for members and teachers to experience.  The following is a list of these events: June 10-13 Agriculture Tour of Southwest Montana June 17-20 Alumni Leadership Camp at the Farmers Union Camp near Highwood June 21-23 Montana Range Days in Dillon June 21-24/25 Montana Association of Ag Educators summer update conference in Deer Lodge On a somewhat more personal note, everybody associated with Montana FFA will continue to keep Mr. Eric Tilleman in their thoughts and prayers as he continues his battle with Covid.  Our best wishes go out to his wife Roberta and other family members.  Enjoy your summer!!!

For questions, please contact:

Shannon Boswell, Division Administrator - 406.444.7915

Eric Tilleman, Agriculture Education Specialist - 406.444.4451

Vacant, Health Sciences Education Specialist - 406.994.6986   

Ian Beagles CTE/Perkins Data Control Specialist - 406.444.9019  

Mike Houghton, Industrial Technology Specialist - 406.444.4452  

Austin Schweitzer, Marketing Program Coordinator - 406.444.2059

Eric Swenson, Business Education Specialist - 406.444.7991   

Megan Vincent, Family & Consumer Sciences Education Specialist - 406.444.3599

The OPI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, require an alternate format, or have questions concerning accessibility, contact the OPI ADA Coordinator, 406-444-3161, opiada@mt.gov, Relay Service: 711.