BEAM’s The Sky’s The Limit Academy (BTSTLA) is an academic-intensive learning opportunity for students entering grades 7th through 8th. The first annual Academy took place in July 2014. This two week program introduced students to the basics of career planning and how to save and invest for the future. Students learned how our free market economy works and about individual roles within the economy. The Academy focused on the steps students can take to build the skills needed to be successful in middle school, high school and beyond.
The goal of this program was to educate middle school students on the basic principles of personal finance, career planning, investing and economics. Special Features and Objectives of BTSTLA included:
• Identifying career interests and how to achieve your goals
• Introduction to how to prepare for college
• Writing and presenting a Career Report
• Recognizing the basic principles of personal finance
• Writing and presenting a Stock Analyst Report
• Learning the basic principles of our market economy and how it works
• Recognizing and applying the economic way of thinking
16 Students participated in our Summer 2014 Academy. Check out the fun they had in our video on You Tube .
Is this something you are interested in? Start planning for your financial future by participating in our Summer 2015 Academy.
Our own board member and Lakeland College Associate Professor of Economics and Business, Scott Niederjohn, has been selected as a Fulbright Scholar. Scott will teach an undergraduate course on the U.S. economy, culture and business practices at the University of Luxembourg the fall of 2013. Not only is he BEAM’s first Fulbright Scholar but he is also Lakeland College’s first as well. Scott is one of about 1,100 U.S. professors who will travel abroad this year through the Fulbright Scholar Program.
He will leave in September with his family and return to Wisconsin in December. Congratulations to Scott on this prestigious award. Having a Fulbright Scholar involved in BEAM is a huge honor for us all!
BEAM was awarded the 2012 Wisconsin Financial Literacy Award by Governor Scott Walker on March 1, 2013. BEAM was one of 21 recipients of the award. As Governor Walker stated, the award recipients are “making a difference in our schools, our workplaces, and our communities across the state.”
The Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy was created in 2011 with the mission of improving financial literacy of Wisconsin citizens. This amazing honor for BEAM is entirely in line with our mission.
Mia Washington, 5th grade BEAM student, won 1st place in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Speech Contest in the 5th and 6th grade category. The 29th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration was held on January 20 of this year. The theme of this year’s event was “Fair Play, Good Will and Justice”. This was the theme that Mia kept in mind as she created an award-winning speech!
Excerpts from Mia’s Award-Winning Speech:
“Even though I am too young to have known Dr. King, I really do know him. I know him because of the legacy he left behind. He was a great man of faith and used his own life’s journey to create a pathway just for me. As I skip along the pathway of life, I am faced with both obstacles and opportunities. Sometimes there are small pebbles on that path and sometimes there are larger rocks. Sometimes the path is clear! Thanks to Dr. King I can overcome any of those obstacles and take advantage of any and every opportunity brought before me on my life’s pathway. On this pathway Dr. King left the right for me to receive a quality, fair education. Today, I can attend any school I so desire. It does not matter what my race, culture, or religious background may be…”
The BEAM staff and administration is proud of Mia and her accomplishment. Way to go, Mia!
Christopher Paige, BEAM K5 student, was selected as a Grand Prize Winner of the U.S. Department of Treasury’s “Save Out Loud” Contest. Christopher won the K-6 photo essay category of the contest and is one of four national Grand Prize Winners who will have the opportunity to meet and converse with Treasurer Rosie Rios during a virtual classroom visit.
BEAM received nice publicity around this win from the Neighborhood News Service. Click to read the article.
Christopher’s adorable photo was selected for its originality, creativity, emotional impact and support of the principle of savings. The title of Christopher’s photo essay was “Big Time Saver.” His accomplishment was recognized with a virtual visit from the U.S. Treasurer of the United States, Rosie Rios. He invited his K5 classmates and the 1st graders to the event.
Christopher wins an engraved plaque with a mounted coin from the U.S. Mint and an autographed dollar bill from the Treasurer. BEAM also received a beautiful Liberty Bell which will be showcased in our “B&E Square” display case that can be found at the end of Market Place on the first floor.
Way to go, Christopher!
Mr. Ronneal Davis nominated BEAM’s third grade students and teachers to receive dictionaries through the AT&T Telecom Pioneers Dictionary Project. On Tuesday, November 22, 2011, Mr. Davis stopped by to present each third grade student with their very own dictionary. The student’s were provided with an opportunity to participate in various exercises designed to teach them how to make the best use of their dictionaries. Some of the special features of the dictionaries are as follows: a multiplication table, biographies of the US Presidents, maps of the world and even a guide to learning sign language. Our student’s reaction to their special gift assured Mr. Davis that he made the right choice in selecting BEAM. The students also sent thank you notes to Mr. Davis and AT&T’s corporate office.
Under Mr. Caston’s guidance, BEAM began a robust recycling program this school year. Each classroom collected recyclable items, predominately paper. In just a short time, Mr. Caston and the participating teachers collected many boxes of recycled materials, and the program continues to grow. Mr. Caston has enlisted the help of the students in the program while also educating them on the importance of recycling and being an active part of the green environmental movement. This is another great initiative underway at the school that will continue to grow in the next school year!
BEAM received two more generous donations to help with the 6th grade Business and Economics curriculum and Math curriculum. Ms. Goldstein received a donation from the Actuarial Foundation. The financial literacy materials will teach students about banking, investing, and savings. Ms. Goldstein also received donations from donorschoose.org in the form of math materials related to geometry and measurement concepts. She is excited to get started using these new materials.
On March 4, 2010, BEAM 7th Graders took first place in the middle school category at the Finance & Investment Challenge Bowl (FICB). This event showcases middle and high school students from all over Milwaukee. It is a semester-long study program culminating in a quiz competition designed to promote financial literacy among youth by testing their knowledge about personal finance and investing. The students competed for gift cards, trophies and other prices by advancing their team in the exciting economic literacy “Jeopardy-style” game.
The FICB is a program of Asset Builders of America, Inc. - a Wisconsin non-profit organization with a mission of promoting financial education and wealth-building strategies to enhance the quality of life of low-income youth, families and communities. This year’s event was co-sponsored by the Helen Bader Foundation, M&I Bank, Precision Information, and US Bank.
BEAM receives visit from Carole Meekins of WTMJ-TV
Student players from BEAM with Carole Meekins of WTMJ-TV and Positively Milwaukee.
Student players from the Business and Economics Academy of Milwaukee (BEAM) receive a visit from Carole Meekins of WTMJ-TV as part of her Positively Milwaukee series.
