Shaker Heights High School made it all the way to the national finals in the 2005 Fed Challenge competition held on May 15-16 at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. Pittsford Mendon High School in Rochester, New York, won the competition, which involved over 220 teams nationwide in several rounds of regional and national competitions.

Shaker social studies teacher Diana Jones coached the Shaker team consisting of Andre Dev, Anna Dev, Morgan Grossman-McKee, Rebecca Heide, and Diana Wang with Shan Tie as alternate. As regional winners and national finalists, the Shaker students, their teacher, and their school will receive cash awards, courtesy of Citibank, N.A.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan contributed a rare videotaped question for all of the teams in the Q&A portion of the final round of the competition.

The Shaker students won an all-expense-paid trip to the national competition, courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, after winning local and regional Fed Challenge championships sponsored by the Cleveland Reserve Bank on April 15 and April 25, 2005.

Fed Challenge is designed to promote better understanding of the nation’s central bank, the forces influencing U.S. and international economic conditions, and the nuances involved in making monetary policy decisions. In addition, the competition is designed to help students develop research, presentation, and critical-thinking skills; to foster a closer relationship between high schools and the Federal Reserve Banks; and to promote interest in economics as a subject for undergraduate and postgraduate study.

Each Fed Challenge team makes a short presentation that includes an analysis of the current state of the economy and a recommendation as to what monetary policy action the FOMC should take. Federal Reserve Bank economists and officers judge the local competitions, while FOMC members -- Federal Reserve Governors and Reserve Bank presidents -- judge the National Finals.

At right is a photo of the Shaker Heights High School Fed Challenge National Finalists, taken at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, where they won Regional and District championships. From left to right: Andre Dev, Morgan Grossman-McKee, Diana Wang, teacher Diana Jones, Anna Dev, Rebecca Heide, and Shan Tie (alternate).
Photo courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

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