2:31 p.m., Jan. 30, 2009----Five teams of elementary and high school students who picked stocks that gained value during a 10-week period last fall were awarded certificates during a ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 29, at the University of Delaware's Blue & Gold Club in Newark.

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The students were competing in The Stock Market Game, an educational simulation that introduces students to Wall Street by allowing them to invest a hypothetical $100,000 in a portfolio of common stocks listed on the New York and American stock exchanges and the NASDAQ stock market. They get to watch their money grow or diminish in competition with every other team in the state.

Nearly 1,300 Delaware students in 285 teams participated in the online contest that ran from Oct. 6-Dec. 12.

In building a portfolio, students research and evaluate stocks, and make decisions based on what they've learned. Teams trade common stocks and mutual funds from the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and the American Stock Exchange; earn interest on cash balances; pay interest if buying on margin and pay a commission on all trades.

In the schools category, the winning team in the grades 4-6 segment was from Leasure Elementary School in Bear, whose portfolio gained $20,965. Skyline Middle School in Wilmington won in the grades 7-8 segment with a gain of $61,033, and Delaware Military Academy in Wilmington won in the grades 9-12 segment with a gain of $34,607.

In the Boys and Girls Clubs category, the Greater Newark Boys & Girls Club won in the grades 4-6 segment with a gain of $2,800, and the Smyrna/Clayton Boys & Girls Club won in the grades 7-8 segment with a gain of $44. There was no entry in the grades 9-12 segment.

The winners in the InvestWrite essay contest were T-Kiara Richardson of Leasure Elementary School; Martin Kurian of H.B. Du Pont Middle School in Hockessin; and Emily Yanacek of Padua Academy in Wilmington. Kurian's essay also placed sixth nationally.

“I'd like them to be my financial advisers,” said James B. O'Neill, director of UD's Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship (CEEE), which offers the game.

“The game triggers interest in the students, especially if they have been successful,” O'Neill said. “Even if they lose, they can step back and ask why they lost. It can be a catalyst for further learning. Also, parents are very important in education, and you have evidence of parents getting involved here.”

Kurian, whose essay was a response to the question of why it is not a good idea to put all eggs in one basket, said he wrote about the benefit of diversifying portfolios in stocks, mutual funds and bonds, and picked the two that he preferred.

“I chose mutual funds and bonds because in this time of economic uncertainty it was vital to pick your investments in a more conservative manner,” Kurian said. “Since some stocks are very volatile, meaning they can go up and down frequently, I chose not to pick them because of the chance of losing a lot of money.

“I selected bonds to steadily earn money with interest over a long period of time. I picked mutual funds because they are made up of different diversified stocks, so they would have a lower chance of losing money,” Kurian said. “My main goal in investing was to make a slow and steady profit over a long period of time. It's a good idea to play it safe in a time of recession.”

Since 1977, The Stock Market Game has drawn more than 10 million participants, giving educators a way to improve the learning experience in thousands of classrooms. Teachers have successfully used program to enliven core academic subjects, including math, social studies and language arts.

Article by Martin A Mbugua
Photo by Duane Perry