COEDU Alumna, Sara T. Carroll, Named Stavros Center Economic Educator of the Year and Florida's Economic Educator of the Year by FCEE

TAMPA, FL (May 2, 2006) - Sara T. Carroll has been named by the Gus A. Stavros Center as their Economic Educator of the Year. The Center also nominated Carroll for the Florida Council on Economic Education's Economic Educator of the Year Award, which she was awarded as well. Read the following press release from the Florida Council on Economic Education to learn more abour Carroll and her recent awards:

From the Florida Council on Economic Education:

Sara T. Carroll is Florida’s Economic Educator of the Year for 2006. Amid such praise as “sheer brilliance and creativity in the classroom,” “understanding of economics,” “dedicated professional,” and “constant ambassador for economics and free enterprise,” members of a Florida Council on Economic Education panel of business leaders enthusiastically selected Mrs. Carroll as the state’s top economic educator.

Since 1981, Sara Carroll has taught students with Specific Learning Disabilities & Varying Exceptionalities (VE) at Fitzgerald Middle School in Clearwater (Pinellas County). VE students exhibit poor reading, writing, spelling and math skills, poor comprehension skills, attention deficits and emotional problems. “Her enthusiasm about economic education motivates her students to be successful in life,” according to Randy Lightfoot, Supervisor of K-12 Social Studies for Pinellas County. “Mrs. Carroll’s classroom also serves as a demonstration classroom for economics for colleagues across the district.”
 
In teaching economics to her 6th, 7th and 8th graders, Mrs. Carroll and her students have created such award-winning entrepreneurial learning projects as “Mix & Munch,” “Fitz Fudgies,” “Nickels for Nick,”, “Choc-O-Dots,” Catchonomics,” The Lovin’ Oven,” SUDS-Sational,” and “Amuse-Mints.” She also incorporates such FCEE programs as “Strive to Drive,” “Student Enterprise Bank,” and the “Financial Freedom” series.
 
Mrs. Carroll’s total commitment to economic education is also demonstrated through her myriad of awards and honors, committee memberships, co-authored classroom learning system books and teacher training manuals. In her nomination form, Sara Carroll is cited as “dedicated, unselfish and caring, gives 100% of herself to her children everyday, is willing to try new strategies, techniques and ideas and supports her fellow teachers.” She holds a St. Petersburg College Associate of Arts Degree and a 1981 University of South Florida Bachelor of Arts Degree in Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD).

Sara Carroll will formally receive her recognition, with accompanying gifts and prizes, during the 27th Annual Florida Governor’s Awards Ceremony on Friday, May 19, 2006, at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando. The Governor’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching Economics is a program sponsored by the Florida Council on Economic Education.

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The mission of the Gus A Stavros Center for Free Enterprise and Economic Education is to connect educators, business leaders, and entrepreneurs in order to advance the effective teaching and integration of free enterprise and economic education into the preK-20 curricula.

For more information contact the College of Education's Communications Director.