St. Joseph High School Wins National Fed Challenge!
On May 18, a team of six students from Saint Joseph’s High School in South Bend, Indiana, representing the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Seventh District, took on teams representing several other Fed Districs and won the High School Fed Challenge competition national championship held in Washington D.C.
Other participants in the finals were second place winner West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, from Plainsboro New Jersey (New York District); third place winner Choat Rosemary Hall from Wallingford Connecticut (Boston District); and fourth place winner Chantilly High School from Chantilly, Virginia (Richmond District).
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke welcomed the finalists and congratulated them on their success in the competition.
How Does Fed Challenge Work?
High school student teams from District schools take part in a simulated FOMC meeting. Each team of five students takes 15 minutes to analyze the U.S. economy, presents a short-term forecast for the economy, and makes a monetary policy recommendation. The team must then defend its presentation before a panel of Fed economists in a 10-minute question-and-answer session.
Each participating Federal Reserve district (currently four of the 12 districts) selects a champion, based on competitions within its district. The champions are all flown to Washington, D.C. to take part in the national Fed Challenge competition.
In Support of 21st Century Skills Framework
By the Partnership for 21st Century Skills
- Focuses on 21st Century Skills, content knowledge and expertise.
- Builds understanding across and among core subjects, as well as 21st Century interdisciplinary themes.
- Emphasizes deep understanding, rather than shallow knowledge.
- Engages students with the real world data, tools and experts that they will encounter in college, on the job and in life: Students learn best when actively engaged in solving meaningful problems.
- Allows for multiple measures of mastery.
