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Philip High School students win trip to Washington, DC in national stock market game competition operated by BHSU

30 May 2018

South Dakota’s Philip High School finished in 6th place in the 15th Annual Capitol Hill Challenge^™ (CHC) national program and won an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. for the teacher and students on the winning team. The CHC is just one component of the Stock Market Game. In South Dakota, the Stock Market Game (SDSMG) is operated through the Black Hills State University Center for Economic Education.

3,374 teams representing senators and congressional representatives nationwide participated in the 14 week CHC competition. Philip High School was matched with Senator Mike Rounds. The top 10 winning teams and their teachers will be recognized at an Awards Reception on June 13 at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill.

The Top 10 Schools and their Congressional representatives:

1. Redan High School	GA	Senator Johnny Isakson
2. Albany High School	CA	Rep. Barbara Lee
3. Glacier Peak High School	WA	Senator Maria Cantwell
4. Waterford High School	WI	Rep. Paul Ryan
5. Simsbury High School	CT	Senator Chris Murphy
6. Philip High School	SD	Senator Mike Rounds
7. Granada Hills Charter High School	CA	Rep. Brad Sherman
8. Canyonville Christian Academy	OR	Rep. Peter DeFazio
9. Lewisburg High School	PA	Senator Robert Casey Jr.
10. Battle Mountain High School	NV	Senator Catherine Cortez Masto

Philip High School teacher Brigitte Bruchlacher participated in the program with her Family & Consumer Sciences class. Her student team of Dyson Schofield and Hunter Peterson, both juniors, finished with a final portfolio of $ 115,322. Their big winner was the purchase of Solar Edge Technologies (SEDG) that increased 85 percent over 14 weeks.

“Philip High School is the first South Dakota school to place in the CDC top 10 nationally and that is quite an impressive accomplishment considering that there were nearly 3,400 teams competing from all 50 states,” said professor Don Altmyer, South Dakota Stock Market Game Coordinator and director for the BHSU Center for Economic Education.

The CHC organizes teams of middle and high school students by congressional district for each state and teaches the importance of saving and investing, while simultaneously promoting a better understanding of our government. Teams invest a hypothetical $100,000 for a 14 week time period in listed stocks, bonds, and mutual funds and learn the value of the capital markets as they work together to maximize the return of their portfolios.

Since the Capitol Hill Challenge began in 2004, the program has made more than 4,100 matches of U.S. representatives and senators with schools, reaching more than 115,000 students. Middle and high school students from all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia are participating in this year’s competition. The CHC competition is sponsored by the SIFMA Foundation for Investor Education.

“Capitol Hill Challenge provides critical educational experiences to young people across America, enabling students who otherwise might not be exposed to the capital markets to gain insights that lead to their success,” said Melanie Mortimer, president of the SIFMA Foundation. “Capitol Hill Challenge students experience the positive compounding effect of understanding from an early age how finance, civics and government touch their lives.”

The competition uses the SIFMA Foundation’s curriculum-based Stock Market Game to help students develop a better understanding of the global economy, become college and career ready, and improve their knowledge of math, economics, and business. The program is proven to raise student scores on tests of mathematics, economics and financial knowledge. It is also proven to positively impact students’ and teachers’ personal financial behavior.

Founded in 1977 by academics at Buffalo State, The Stock Market Game has since expanded through a national network of educational nonprofit organizations to reach 17 million students. An independent study by Learning Point Associates found that students who participated in the Stock Market Game scored significantly higher on mathematics and financial literacy tests than their peers who did not participate. They also found that teachers who taught the Stock Market Game reported that the program motivated them to better plan for their own financial futures. The Stock Market Game has been named the only program that successfully increased scores on the Jumpstart Coalition's test of high school students' financial literacy.

The Capitol Hill Challenge is just one component of the Stock Market Game, which operates in all 50 states. The program has significant benefits including professional development opportunities for teachers, teamwork and confidence building for students, and reinforcement of students’ technology and online research skills (the trading simulation is online). The program improves students' and teachers' financial knowledge and behavior and fulfills national standards and state-level subject matter requirements in ELA, Math, Social Studies, Business, Economics, Technology, and Consumer Science.

The dates for the Fall 2018 South Dakota Stock Market Game are: October 1 to Dec 7 and for the Spring 2019 Game: February 11 to April 8. To learn more about the South Dakota Stock Market Game program, visit www.stockmarketgame.org or contact Professor Don Altmyer, South Dakota Stock Market Game Coordinator at donaltmyer@BHSU.edu

Philip High School students win trip to Washington, DC in national stock market game competition operated by BHSU

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