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General Information
- Who can sponsor or license the Summit program?
- Could you give me a brief overview of what the Summit program is?
- Which student groups does the Summit program target?
- Is the Summit program correlated to state or national education standards?
- What is the history of the Summit program?
- How many teachers or students are required to start a Summit program?
- How do universities get involved in the Summit?
- Are corporate or bank sponsors involved in the Summit?
Teacher Training
- How are teachers trained to deliver the Summit to their students?
- What Summit materials are available to teachers?
- Do teachers earn credits for receiving the training?
The Mini Summit Program
- Is there a classroom version of the Summit program?
- How much time does it take a teacher to implement the program?
- How many students are needed to hold a Mini Summit?
The Regional Summit Program
- Where are the large events held?
- Can teams outside Idaho attend Summit events in Idaho?
- Who facilitates the large Summit events?
- How do teachers and students prepare for the large events?
- How many schools and students would attend a large event?
- How can the Summit Organization help us prepare for a large event?
- How much administrative time is required from us to implement a large event?
General Information
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Who can sponsor or license the Summit program?
Typically an organization such as a Council or Center on Economic Education becomes the lead sponsor. However, universities, school districts, state departments of education or even an individual high school could get the Summit program started. The largest sponsoring organization so far is the San Francisco Federal Reserve.
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Could you give me a brief overview of what the Summit program is?
The Summit program is a ten-week economics curriculum designed around the theme of international trade and globalization. Over the course of the semester, teachers guide their students in preparing to serve as virtual “Economic Advisors” to their assigned countries. Students engage in the following activities:
- Country Research
- Country Strategic Improvement Planning
- Creating an Economic Proposal for their region
- Participating in the culminating Summit Event
Country Research
Students become acquainted with the challenges that their country faces. To do this, each student team, which is composed of five or six students, begins by researching their country and its statistics.
Country Classification
Each country is classified into one of three categories: High Income, Middle Income, and Low Income. The criteria for this classification system are based on export totals and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita
Exports and Imports
Students are asked to complete many objectives regarding exports and imports. In the Summit program there are 13 categories of exports and imports. At the Summit event, the demand for imports is greater than the supply of exports.
Summit Currency
Each country is endowed with one of three currencies: WELCOs, DEVCOs or LESCOs depending on whether they are a High, Middle, or Low Income country.
Foreign Aid
Foreign aid is a means for more developed countries to offer monetary assistance to less developed countries.
Strategic Plan
Each team will create a strategic plan for their country. This includes a specific set of goals to address your country’s need for imports and internal improvements.
Internal Improvements
Students may purchase Internal Improvement coupons in education, health care and infrastructure. One unit of internal improvement costs 5 WELCOs and is purchased from the Summit Bank.
Economic Proposal
Each team of economic advisors will propose an economic solution to some regional or world problem.
The Summit Event
At the end of the semester, the student teams of economic advisors meet for a one day Summit Event. This event is typically held at a university but can also take place at a high school or even within the classroom. The event includes the following activities.
Geography Quiz
Team members work together to identify several countries. They are shown the country location on a world map, the country’s flag, the country GDP and a major export.
Country Alliance Negotiations
Countries form alliances with other countries. These alliances become strategically important during the export/import trading session later in the day.
Economic Proposal Campaign
Each country campaigns for their economic proposal. Countries that gain the most support for their proposal receive the opportunity to present their proposal in the upcoming debate.
Economic Proposal Debate and Voting
Ten countries are allowed to present their proposals to the general assembly. At the end of the debate, all countries vote for their choice of the top 3 proposals.
Costume and Table Display Judging
Teams win points for their costumes and table displays. The Summit also recognizes the overall costume and table display winners.
Economics Test
Team members work together on the Economics Test. Points are awarded for the number of correct answers a team achieves
International Trade and Banking Session
Countries sell or trade their export coupons to obtain imports or cash that will help them reach the goals of their strategic plans. They also borrow money and purchase Internal Improvements from the Summit Bank and they either award or receive Foreign Aid.
Awards Ceremony
The day closes with the Awards Ceremony. Awards are given in several categories.
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Which student groups does the Summit program target?
The Summit program is designed for high school students primarily. However, it can be used in college level economics or international business classes as well.
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Is the Summit program correlated to state or national education standards?
The Summit program is built upon the voluntary National Standards for Economics. Several states including Idaho and California have correlated it to their economics standards as well. The Summit also addresses certain standards in geography, civics and government.
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What is the history of the Summit program?
Elsa Bennett and Kali Kurdy, business and economics teachers at Borah High School in Boise, Idaho conceptualized the Summit Program in the early 1990s. Mrs. Kurdy received the NASDAQ Teacher of the Year Award for her work on the program. Classroom and Summit event materials were developed by Jody Hoff of the Idaho Council on Economic Education. Classroom and Summit Event field-testing were completed under the final year of a development grant from the J.A. & Kathryn Albertson Foundation.
Idaho Expansion
- J.A. & Kathryn Albertson Foundation provide grant to supply Classroom Summit Kits and teacher training in every high school in Idaho
- 60 Regional Summit Events held to date (each with 350-450 students)
- 29,000 Idaho students participated in the International Economic Summit
- 90 High School Teachers trained in the Summit
- 12 Regional Summit Events held annually, hosted at four universities
- State Department of Education adopts the Summit officially as its “Performance Assessment in Economics.”
Additional Sponsors adopt the Summit
- Middle Tennessee State University
- State University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
- Illinois Council on Economic Education
- California Council on International Trade</li
- Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
- University of Southern California
- San Diego State University
- CETyS University, Mexico
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How many teachers or students are required to start a Summit program?
The Summit program can be implemented in a single classroom.
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How do universities get involved in the Summit?
Universities like the Summit program partially because it brings several hundred graduating high school seniors onto their campus annually. Universities typically supply the physical facilities for hosting the end-of-semester Summit event. They may also host a Council or Center on Economic Education, which is often the lead sponsor for the program.
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Are corporate or bank sponsors involved in the Summit?
Many corporations and banks are involved in the Summit program. They provide volunteers that serve as scorekeepers and Summit bankers and they often provide funding for teacher training, materials and for the actual Summit events. The Summit is attractive to corporate and bank sponsors that have a commitment to community, state and national economic development and to education.
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How are teachers trained to deliver the Summit to their students?
The Idaho Council on Economic Education offers 1.5 day teacher training courses on a regular basis. Teachers can attend training workshops in Idaho or can schedule a training event in their state. Typically, a minimum of ten teachers are required to schedule an in-state training event.
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What Summit materials are available to teachers?
Each teacher receiving the training receives all the materials he or she needs to implement the Summit program in the classroom or school. These include Teacher Handbook, Participant Guides and the Mini-Summit Kit. This kit contains export coupons, foreign aid coupons, currency, etc.
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Do teachers earn credits for receiving the training?
Yes. One or two professional development credits are offered through various universities. To earn the credits, teachers are required to complete the training, implement the Summit program in their classroom and complete certain assignments.
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Is there a classroom version of the Summit program?
Yes. The Mini Summit program provides teachers will all the materials they need to implement the Summit in a single classroom. The Mini Summit Kit contains materials for 30 countries. Therefore, it would accommodate up to 150 students.
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How much time does it take a teacher to implement the program?
The Summit program includes 12 classroom lessons in international economics and trade. The lessons also prepare the students to compete in the end-of-semester Summit event. Some teachers dedicate one class period per week to the Summit for 12 weeks. Other teachers complete their regular classroom curriculum during the semester and then dedicate the last two or three weeks to the Summit exclusively. The end-of-semester Summit event typically runs from 8:00 AM until 2:30 in the afternoon.
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How many students are needed to hold a Mini Summit?
Practically speaking, a Mini Summit could be held with as few as five or six students, each one representing a country. However, it is more typical for a classroom of 20-25 students to hold a Mini Summit. The Mini Summit Kit contains materials for 30 countries. Therefore, it could accommodate up to 150 students if each country team were composed of five students.
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Where are the large events held?
The large Summit events with 250 to 500 students are typically held at universities. A large university ballroom is the perfect setting but a gymnasium can also be used. Summit events can also be scheduled at community centers, high schools, large corporate facilities or even outdoors. A Federal Reserve Bank, the World Bank, the IMF would also be ideal facilities in which to host Summit events.
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Can teams outside Idaho attend Summit events in Idaho?
Yes. In Idaho, Summits are held every semester at Boise State University, Idaho State University, University of Idaho, College of Southern Idaho and North Idaho College. Out of state teams are welcome, subject to space availability.
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Who facilitates the large Summit events?
There are multiple options. The Idaho Council on Economic Education has several trained facilitators who are available to travel out of state. However, the goal is to train local in-state facilitators. Typically, a prospective facilitator would be very familiar with the Mini Summit program and would have attended one or two large Summit events as well. Facilitators include experienced high school economics teachers, university professors, state Council or Center directors, etc.
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How do teachers and students prepare for the large events?
Teachers lead their students through the regular Summit curriculum during the semester. These lessons contain activities that prepare the students to compete in the end-of-semester Summit event. Preparations include receiving a country assignment, country research, developing an economic proposal, submitting a country strategic plan etc. The Idaho Council provides detailed written instructions to teachers, facilitators and students who will be participating in the Summit.
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How many schools and students would attend a large event?
A large event is typically defined as a multi-school Summit. This could include as few as two schools and 100 students or as many as 15 schools and 500 students. In Idaho, the large Summit events range from 250 to 500 students.
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How can the Summit Organization help us prepare for a large event?
The Idaho Council on Economic Education can help in the following ways:
- Provide training for teachers, facilitators and administrators
- Provide materials
- Provide coaching and mentorship
- Provide a Summit Web site
- Facilitate large events
- Provide fund raising best practice tips
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How much administrative time is required from us to implement a large event?
The primary sponsoring organization, typically a Council or Center on Economic Education or similar group, promotes, organizes and facilitates local Summits.
Depending on how many schools, teachers and students are involved, sponsorship the Summit program does require a significant time commitment. The following is a list of typical activities that the sponsoring organization could expect to be involved in. The time each one requires depends entirely on local circumstances.
- Arranging an initial Summit briefing meeting for 10-20 teachers and/or sponsors.
- Promoting and arranging a Summit teacher training.
- Promoting and arranging for a large Summit event.
- Arranging funding for teacher training and/or on-going Summit events.
- Expanding an existing program to additional schools and/or universities.
- Promoting and arranging executive luncheon meetings in conjunction with student Summit events.