The Budget Challenge Blog

Credit unions have a mission to serve their community's financial needs. Schools have a mission to create financially capable young adults. As First Area Credit Union begins its fourth year of Budget Challenge sponsorship, COO Lynn McCoy and Swan Valley Michigan High School teacher David Dawson share how they are transforming lives through their joint efforts. Read about it in this week's blog post.

Tony Wright who is a Career and Technical Education teacher at Warren Mott High School in Warren, MI shared his vast Budget Challenge experience with us.

Robin Salai, a Business teacher at Fairmont Senior High School in WV, who has been using Budget Challenge for several years, shares her vast experience with us. She started teaching the class with 22 students and since then her class size has almost tripled. Salai was even featured in the Times West Virginian last year for using our program in her Personal Finance course.

Jacob Granstaff is an AP Macroeconomics/Government teacher at Boerne High School in Texas. He shared his most memorable Budget Challenge experience, which occurred at a recent graduation.

Bill Nelson, a CTE Career Readiness Teacher and Consultant at the Van Buren Tech School located in Lawrence, MI shared with us the value Budget Challenge adds to his students' lives.

Jeanne White shared her unique experience of teaching overseas at Kubasaki High School which is on Camp Foster a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa, a DODEA high school.

Social Studies teacher, David Tonnis with St. Ursula Academy in Cincinnati, Ohio, has used Budget Challenge for over seven years. David has successfully guided his students through all of the updates and advancements made to Budget Challenge.

Elder High School teacher Joe Schoenfeld (Cincinnati, Ohio) gave us his insight into how Budget Challenge impacts his students and how Eagle Saving Bank Charitable Foundation has made it possible for his students to participate in Budget Challenge. “Budget Challenge brings a lot of life and energy to our class. Without a doubt, my favorite aspects of the Budget Challenge are the hands-on nature of the simulation and the competition. The students are actively engaged in the simulation and get great practice reading invoices, writing checks, creating a budget and making financial decisions.”

Dr. Patricia Page who has her graduate degrees in Business Administration and Education, and a PhD specializing in Educational Technology, is an avid user of Budget Challenge. She is a teacher at East Greenwich High School in Rhode Island. Dr. Page has recently shared her perspective on Budget Challenge and financial literacy with us.

John Yoho a Career & Technology Education teacher and Virtual Learning Mentor at Brunswick High, in Frederick County, Maryland, is a long time user of Budget Challenge. For several years, thousands of students have had the opportunity to participate in the program thanks to the generosity of Jennifer Allen. Her company, J Allen and Associates CPA has provided full funding for all high schools in the entire Frederick County Public School District to participate in Budget Challenge. He recently shared the impact that the simulation has had on his students throughout the years. "I've been teaching personal finance for almost ten years and Budget Challenge is by far the best thing that I have found for navigating these topics and skills with students. I truly believe that Budget Challenge is having a huge impact on our students and will hopefully save them time, money, and potentially stressful situations moving into adulthood!"