Grimes students stay in the game as CTE Stock Market Challenge heads into final week

Sixth graders in Tameka Cooper’s class at Grimes School were still researching, debating and buying stocks Friday as the Mount Vernon City School District’s CTE Stock Market Challenge entered its final stretch.

Though Grimes was not among the top three schools on the latest leaderboard, Ms. Cooper cheered her students on, reminding them that with one week left in the three-month competition, a late rally is still possible for a chance at a trophy, bragging rights and a pizza party.

“We are coming to the end of our stock market game,” she told the class. “We do already know that we’re not in first, second or third place, but I think we have a couple of goals over our next week. One is what can we do, even with the one week that we have, to potentially make a difference in our earnings.”

As of Friday afternoon, the leaderboard was as follows:

1st Place – Mount Vernon STEAM Academy: $109,173.15
2nd Place – Graham School: $106,485.59
3rd Place – Nelson Mandela / Dr. Hosea Zollicoffer School: $105,890.78

Ms. Cooper challenged the fledgling entrepreneurs to look beyond the standings.

“What have we actually learned from even losing?” she said. “Because there’s a lesson even in losing. You can win out of losing.”
The class reflected the growing reach of the districtwide competition, which now includes nine schools: Mount Vernon High School, STEAM Academy, Denzel Washington School of the Arts, Pennington School, Benjamin Turner Academy, Graham School, Lincoln School, Nelson Mandela/Dr. Hosea Zollicoffer School and Grimes.

This is the first year that elementary schools have taken part, even though they do not offer Career and Financial Management classes.

Students work in teams with assigned responsibilities such as director, head researcher, portfolio coordinator, data entry coordinator and lead reporter. They use $100,000 in virtual funds through the Stock Market Game, an investing simulation endorsed by NASDAQ that places them alongside schools from across New York State.

 Brian Simmons, the District’s director of Career and Technical Education, visited the class Friday to help the students as they made their faux trades and monitored the volatile market’s latest swings.

“This week in the CTE Stock Market Challenge, things are dramatically different … with an EPIC reversal of fortunes,” Mr. Simmons wrote in an emailed update on the contest, which saw a significant shuffle in the list of leaders.

“Buckle up for a seismic sea change with just one week to go …anybody can bring it home,” he added.

Inside Ms. Cooper’s classroom, the focus was on strategy. Before students returned to trading, she asked them to think about how they make investment decisions and what research should guide those choices.

As students discussed the difference between a stock and a mutual fund, they showed how much financial language they had picked up over the course of the challenge. When Ms. Cooper asked what students should look for when researching a company, they quickly pointed to tools like Yahoo Finance, ticker symbols and stock charts showing highs and lows.

“They know when to buy, they know when to sell,” Ms. Cooper said afterward. “They know how to research a stock, what is the difference between a stock and a mutual fund. And they’ve even learned how the real world connects to this and how what’s going on in the world has affected our economy and how it could affect the stocks and the investments that they’ve made.”

She said the experience has also helped students connect classroom math to real life.

“A lot of times, you get students who are not as motivated in math, and say, ‘Why are we doing this? Why does this matter?’” Ms. Cooper said. “And to see some of the math that we were doing and to connect it to this and see how it’s useful — yeah, we’re using this in the real world — that brought that to life for them.”

Beyond the academic lessons, she said, the challenge has sparked genuine excitement among the students.

“The most valuable part wasn’t just the academic side of it, the financial learning that they had, but the engagement,” Ms. Cooper said. “They are excited about it. They’re really into it.”

Some students have become so invested in the challenge that they check their simulated portfolios outside school hours, eager to see how market changes affect their teams.

Student Hector Medina, who serves as his group’s leader, said his team has invested in computer companies, artificial intelligence companies, mutual funds and Exchange-Traded Funds, which include stocks, bonds and commodities.

He said the experience has already helped him think differently about money and investing.

“I’m doing a lot, actually, like real life also,” Hector said. “In Cash App, you can get sponsored by your parents and you can buy stocks. And I’ve actually made almost $100 in stock just by using the stock market game as higher prior knowledge.”

Mr. Simmons said the Grimes students have already gained something more valuable than a spot on the leaderboard.

“It is so inspiring to see how much Ms. Cooper’s students’ financial literacy has grown in such a short time,” he said. “It is a combination of students’ hunger for financial literacy, a committed teacher’s passion for excellence, and the great things happening at Grimes.

“They may be competing against high school students, but these sixth-graders have already built a solid foundation for lifelong prosperity,” Mr. Simmons added.

Last year’s inaugural competition was introduced by Caterina DiPaola, a CFM teacher at Graham School and was won by the former Mount Vernon Leadership Academy. The traveling trophy is currently housed at the Benjamin Turner Academy.

With the April 17 finish line approaching, Grimes students know they are chasing the leaders, but are well aware that the competition is still very much alive.