Fed Training Program Helps Teachers Promote Economics Knowledge and Careers

ST. LOUIS – The Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta, Philadelphia, and St. Louis have created a program to train educators how to teach economics, with a focus on teaching children of color in low- and moderate-income school districts.

 

Over three years, the Federal Reserve Education Fellows (FREF) program will train middle and high school teachers in five school districts how to make economics relevant and interesting for students of color. 

 

“Many people think economics is too complicated, even though they live with the consequences of supply and demand every day. We live in a market system, and people need to understand how that system works,” said James Bullard, president of the St. Louis Fed.     

 

Besides equipping students to be knowledgeable participants in the economy, the FREF program aims to give educators tools that will encourage students to consider a career in economics. Research in the Journal of Economic Education shows that 31.3% of economics graduate students were women and 11.8% were Black, Hispanic or Native American.

 

“If we want more women and students of color in graduate economics programs, we must first increase the number of them interested in studying and pursuing careers in economics,” said Mary Suiter, assistant vice president and economic education leader at the St. Louis Fed. “It’s difficult for students to see themselves in a career if they’ve not seen someone like them doing that work.” 

 

The first class of teachers comprises 19 fifth-grade, middle school, and high school teachers from:

 

• Ferguson-Florissant School District (suburban St. Louis)  

• Jennings School District (suburban St. Louis)  

• Atlanta Public Schools  

• Bibb County School District (Macon, Georgia)  

• Colonial School District (Delaware)

 

In June, the participants attended a weeklong program at the St. Louis Fed, where economic education teams from the Atlanta, Philadelphia, and St. Louis Federal Reserve banks provided economic content and demonstrated effective instruction methods. Economic instructors from the University of Delaware, the Georgia Council on Economic Education, Illinois State University and Starr’s Mill High School also assisted with the training. 

 

During the 2022–23 school year, the fellows will teach the appropriate grade-level curriculum to their students and develop best practices. In 2024, participants who successfully complete the program may qualify to become teacher consultants for the next cohort of fellows.