The Georgia Council on Economic Education is a nonprofit organization that helps elementary and secondary educators teach economics in the public and independent schools of Georgia. The council’s vision is that students will leave school prepared for their economic roles as workers, consumers, and citizens and will become informed decision makers in the global economy.

Teacher Workshop
Teacher Workshop

Courtesy of Georgia Council on Economic Education

The council was founded in 1972, largely due to the efforts of Mills B. Lane Jr., the chief executive officer of the Citizens and Southern National Bank in Atlanta. He recruited business leaders from the Coca-Cola Company, Flowers Industries, Piggly-Wiggly Southern, and Trust Company Bank, as well as education leaders, including the superintendent of Atlanta’s city schools, the state superintendent of schools, and the chancellor of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

The council is affiliated with the National Council on Economic Education and with a nationwide network that includes councils for economic education in most states and centers for economic education at more than 200 universities. The National Council on Economic Education coordinates international activities through the Economics International division, and the Georgia council is actively involved in the International Association for Children’s Civics and Economics Education.

Mills B. Lane
Mills B. Lane

Courtesy of Georgia Council on Economic Education

A Center for Economic Education has been created on twelve university campuses in Georgia. These centers serve as local resources for curriculum development and teacher workshops, and they provide access to instructional materials. More than 120 public school systems and independent schools have made formal commitments to strengthen their economics instruction as part of the EconomicsAmerica program and are linked to the Georgia council, the national council, and the regional centers that support their efforts.

Economics is a basic component of Georgia’s existing Quality Core Curriculum and planned new Georgia Performance Standards. Georgia is one of fourteen states with a required high school economics course, and students enrolled in that course began taking “high stakes” end-of-course tests in the fall of 2004.

Atkinson Hall
Atkinson Hall

Courtesy of Georgia Council on Economic Education

The council helps educators teach economics by conducting workshops to strengthen their knowledge and skills and by providing them with resource materials appropriate to the grade levels and courses they are teaching. It also coordinates a variety of special programs, including the award-winning Georgia Economic History Project and the Stock Market Game competition.

The council’s board continues to be represented by top leaders from business and education, and the council receives financial support from more than 400 businesses, foundations, and individuals.

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The New Georgia Encyclopedia is supported by funding from A More Perfect Union, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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Teacher Workshop

Teacher Workshop

Middle school teachers gather at a workshop sponsored by the Georgia Council on Economic Education. Each year the council provides more than 100 workshops to help teachers develop strategies for teaching economics in their classrooms.

Courtesy of Georgia Council on Economic Education

Mills B. Lane

Mills B. Lane

Mills B. Lane, chief executive officer of the Citizens and Southern National Bank, founded the Georgia Council on Economic Education in 1972. The council exists to support economic education in the state's elementary and secondary schools.

Courtesy of Georgia Council on Economic Education

Atkinson Hall

Atkinson Hall

The Center for Economic Education, housed in Atkinson Hall at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, supports economics teachers in the community by assisting with curriculum development and providing instructional materials. It is one of twelve such centers located on university campuses throughout the state.

Courtesy of Georgia Council on Economic Education