Fluvanna County Wins the David Ricardo Challenge

On March 28, four students from Gary Greenwood’s Economics and Personal Finance class took a 30-question exam with questions similar to Virginia’s economics and personal finance SOLs. Those students were Somerville Munt, Keera Finley, Bayley Leyshon, and Rebecca McCann. “I chose the students that had the highest average in my class and asked them if they wanted to be on the team. They took a test and scored in the top eight schools to receive an invitation to compete at the state level,” said Greenwood.

In order to prepare for this event, a lot of studying went on. “I prepared by studying my notes and practicing in the packet Mr. Greenwood gave us,” said junior Bayley Leyshon. The team’s hard work paid off because they ended up earning the highest score in Region V, thereby winning the Adam Smith and David Ricardo Challenge and advancing them on to the state level.

The state championship will take place in Richmond on April 20, and eight of the highest-scoring teams in Virginia will be competing there in a Quiz Bowl to determine the top team. Unfortunately, according to Greenwood, the Fluvanna students will not be able to compete since a number of them are participating in the FCHS spring play “Shrek.”

After the competition, the team who wins will then move on to the National Competition. More information about the National Competition can be found at vcee.org.

Along with this accomplishment, Fluvanna County High School’s Economics and Personal Finance teachers have been recognized by Working in Support of Education (W!SE) as Gold Star teachers due to 93% of Fluvanna students earning a passing score on the Financial Literacy end-of-course test. These teachers are Gary Greenwood, Christine Kreitzman, and Darren McCauley.

FCHS has also won the Blue Star Award for Financial Literacy for the past four years (2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017). Blue Star schools are schools that have a passing rate of at least 80% of students on the National Economics and Personal Finance Test with an average score of 85% or better.

For more information about Fluvanna’s Economics and Personal Finance program, contact Brenda Gilliam, Executive Director of Instruction and Finance, at [email protected] or (434) 589-8208.