The Pennsylvania Council on Financial Literacy works with teachers statewide to give students a better understanding of personal finance decision-making, to improve our children’s future and this country’s economic prosperity.

Schools across Pennsylvania competed in the Pennsylvania Council on Financial Literacy’s Stock Market Challenge, from the world leader in financial simulations, Stock-Trak. Mauch Chunk Trust Company sponsored this program for Carbon County. Weis Markets, in part, will be sponsoring the statewide competitions.

Teams of students each managed a hypothetical investment of $100,000 in stocks, bonds and mutual funds and made buying and trading decisions based on the stock market. The students who traded and finished the competition with the most money won.

Palmerton Middle School ranked first place in the middle school division for the Carbon County spring 2020 competition. The winning student was Benjamin Andrews. He worked under the guidance of teacher Kathryn Zurn.

Panther Valley High School ranked in the first place in the high school division and second place in the middle school division for the Carbon County spring 2020 competition. The high school winning student was Noah Hess and the middle school winner was Mikayla Yuricheck. They worked under the guidance of teacher Joseph Steber.

Mikayla said, “My experience with the stock market challenge was pretty cool. I really enjoyed taking part in such a challenge, because you can do this type of thing in the future. It helped me learn a lot about the economy and how the world works. Thanks for letting me be a part of this!”

Steber said, “This is a great experience for the students, plus this is a great way to learn about investing for their retirement since the traditional retirement plans are not generally offered by companies. The students were able to experience some good times and bad times in the stock market that will help them in their future. I am very proud of all the students from Panther Valley that got to participate. Time was a factor to get more involved. I am especially proud for Panther Valley at the high school level since the students were able to secure seven out of the top 11 spots in the final rankings. The future looks bright for Panther Valley and they look forward to next year’s competition.”

Weatherly High School ranked second place in the high school division for the Carbon County spring 2020 competition. The winning students were Jacob Solonoski and Ethan Broskoskie. They worked under the guidance of teacher Brian Kaminski.

Jim Thorpe Area High School ranked third place in the high school division for the Carbon County spring 2020 competition. The winning student is Delon Daley. He worked under the guidance of teacher Tonia Schaeffer.

Tamaqua Middle School ranked first place in the middle school division for the Schuylkill County spring 2020 competition. The winning student is Josh Filce. Tamaqua Middle School student Kassidy Kuhn, finished in third place for the middle school division. They worked under the guidance of teacher Megan Frantz.

Kassidy shared, “I liked how you could buy and sell different stocks and learn about the companies.”

Frantz added, “I think this is an awesome program to help students of all ages learn about stocks. It is an excellent resource for teachers.”

Riverview Bank sponsored this program for Schuylkill County.

First place student, or student group, will share $100, second place $50, and third place $30. Teachers also receive prizes. Teacher prizes are first place $25, second place $20, third place $15.