Teaching Champion Award Winners 2023 

Simon Jarcho teaches economics, statistics, and math to grades 11-12 at Avenues: The World School in NYC. At Avenues, Simon’s Philosophy of Economics elective focuses on everything from the application of foundational economic concepts and theory to decisions in public policy. He also advises the Economics Club and the Getting to College Project, a student-led organization committed to expanding access to college counseling services in underserved school communities. Simon shared, “Economic education and exposure to social sciences, provides students with a toolkit to better understand and engage with the world around them. By imparting upon students an awareness of incentives and how they impact decisions – from ‘big picture’ macroeconomic decisions that drive public policy down to daily choices about how we as individuals allocate our scarce resources – I believe that we empower young adults to be more civically engaged and better equipped to participate in productive discourse.” 

Christopher Power teaches economics, virtual enterprise, and technology to grades 9-12 at Francis Lewis High School in Fresh Meadows, NY. Christopher’s passion for finance and economics translates to unique and often loud (but entertaining!) lessons and discussion. Christopher focuses on brining real world experiences into the classroom. Lessons include building pitch decks, analyzing economic data, calculating mortgage payments, managing money, and more. Christopher’s teaching approach is extremely popular with the students: he has grown the business program from 68 to 306 students per year. What matters to him most is creating career ready students who are capable of making calculated life and financial decisions. Christopher shared, “Financial literacy and economic education buys freedom. Evidence suggests 80% of people are financially illiterate. So, contrary to popular belief, money is not the root of all evil, the lack of financial literacy is.” 

Robert Sckalor teaches global studies, economics, and AP U.S. Politics and Government to grades 10-12 at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, NY. Robert credits the book Freakonomics as the transformational moment in his life where he developed a love for all things economics, and he wants his students to feel just as inspired about the subject. In his economics classes, you can find his students playing a risk-aversion investing game or shopping around for their “accident Wednesday” insurance. Robert recently shared, “Developing strong financial literacy skills and the ability to respond rationally to economic incentives is the compounding interest of life. You won’t see gains early, but in the long run you’ll be incredibly thankful for your literacy and decision-making skills.”