Virginia Council on Economic Education

VCEE envisions a Virginia in which every citizen is economically and financially literate.

We aim to accomplish this bold vision by providing access to and support for:

-Well-designed curriculum adopted statewide that integrates economics and personal finance concepts, skills and experiences starting in kindergarten and building a little bit each year through grade 12;
-One-credit, full-year Economics and Personal Finance high school course that is required for a standard Virginia diploma;
-Comprehensive training and professional certifications so every student learns economics concepts and personal finance skills from a competent, confident, and qualified instructor;
-High-quality, standards-aligned instructional resources for teachers to use in their own classes;
-Experiential learning opportunities that align with VDOE's Profile of a Graduate so students gain the essential life skills which will benefit them, regardless of personal circumstances or future vocation;

...all at no cost to the teacher, student or school. Each year, we rely on the generosity of donors, sponsors and partners to make this impact possible.

To ensure all Virginia students graduate economically and financially literate, they must learn from qualified teachers. As the critical resource for teachers in Virginia, the Virginia Council on Economic Education addresses this need by “teaching the teacher," who then reach and teach hundreds of thousands of students over their teaching careers -- a strong multiplier effect.

Educators who complete VCEE training are armed with content knowledge, curriculum, and instructional resources to more effectively teach students immediately and each year they continue to teach. Our teacher training programs are provided at no cost to teachers or their schools thanks to donations to VCEE's Fund for Teaching Excellence.

The Virginia Council's integration with both public and private partners means that we are better equipped to provide engaging content that is strong, up-to-date, and relevant. The Council works in collaboration with the Governor's Office, the Department of Education, universities, local school divisions, and community partners in the private sector to develop, promote, and maintain a system for economic and financial literacy.

Theses partnerships, along with the most effective model to reach the greatest number of students, allow VCEE to be an advocate and a resource for economic and financial education for the benefit of all Virginians.

Starting in 2009, VCEE advocated for, then privately funded, the now state-mandated one-credit Economics and Personal Finance high school course, such that starting with students entering ninth grade in 2011, completion of this course would be required for a standard diploma.

Teaching real-world life lessons in a world that's constantly evolving meant the course grew outdated. And with no course textbook, a second generation course was sorely needed.

VCEE once again sought private investment in order to redesign, rewrite and test the 2nd gen course. Working with the Virginia Department of Education's Virtual Virginia, our content was turned into an updated course that was released in time for the 2020-21 academic year, when most of Virginia's schools were operating remotely in response to the covid-19 pandemic.

The revised course features:
• Videos and interactives
• Big idea callouts
• Discussion board for each module
• Homework assignments with rubrics for teacher grading
• Exit slips for each lesson (NOT all multiple choice)
• End-of-module exams (NOT all multiple choice)
• End-of-course-exams (NOT all multiple choice)

As part of the rollout of the revised course, VCEE provided free training to nearly 200 high school educators so they could explore the modules and familiarize themselves with how to use it in-person, online, or hybrid.

With a required high school course under our belts, VCEE turned its attention to ensuring all educators are qualified to teach economics and personal finance curriculum before stepping into a classroom. We are partnering with the Virginia Board of Education to pass an add-on endorsement that requires teachers of these subjects to get the training before they teach.