The 2025 John Morton Excellence in the Teaching of Economics Awards

Do you love economics? Do you have a unique or exemplary approach to incorporating economics into your classroom instruction? Or do you know someone who does? The Council for Economic Education's (CEE’s) John Morton Excellence in the Teaching of Economics Award is the only national award recognizing teachers like you! 

This award honors teachers of any subject who use exemplary teaching techniques that improve their students’ economic understanding, in and out of the classroom. Annually an award of $1,000 is given to one teacher in each of the following categories:

• Elementary School (Grades K-5) 
• Middle/Junior High School (Grades 6-8)
• High School (Grades 9-12)

Each winner will receive:

• $1,000 cash prize
• An opportunity to co-facilitate a session at CEE’s 64th Financial Literacy & Economic Education Conference on October17th-18th, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana 
• Recognition of your achievement during the Conference Awards Luncheon
• Covered registration, travel, and accommodation expenses to attend the Conference.  
• An opportunity to have their lessons highlighted on CEE’s EconEdLink.
• Recognition on the CEE website and in CEE’s EconEdLink November newsletter
• A plaque certifying this award 

Aside from applying directly, teachers can be nominated by a teaching colleague, department chair, principal, superintendent, or CEE state affiliate (State Council or University-based Center for Economic Education). Please help us to spread the word by encouraging teachers in your network to apply!

ELIGIBILITY

High-ranking applications not selected for an award in the current year will be carried forward and considered during the subsequent 2 award years. To be eligible for this award you must:

• Demonstrate experience teaching in a K-12 setting and integrating economics into your instruction.
• Have been a K-12 classroom teacher in a public, private or parochial school during the 2024-2025 school year.
• Be a member of EconEdLink, CEE’s free online site. You can register here:  https://www.econedlink.org/membership

**Past winning teachers are not eligible to apply.**

APPLICATION ELEMENTS

This easy application will take you less than 20 minutes to complete and consists of the following questions and documentation:

QUESTIONS

1. What makes your approach to integrating economics in your classroom exemplary? 
2. How do you keep your students motivated and inspired to learn? 
3. How do you show your passion for economics?

DOCUMENTATION

• Upload 1 favorite lesson or video and describe how the teacher (or "you") would teach the content.

*Nominations will follow a similar process by answering the above listed questions

IMPORTANT DATES

• Monday, April 28th, 2025: Application portal opens.
• Monday, June 23rd, 2025: Submission deadline. Portal closes at 11:59 PM EST. 
• Friday, August 8th, 2025: Awardees will be notified. Following awardee notification, their schools will be notified, names and pictures will appear on CEE websites and press releases will be sent out to the media.

DISCLAIMER: The award results shall be determined on an objective and non-discriminatory basis. In furtherance of the foregoing, members of CEE, employees and directors of CEE and members of the immediate families (i.e., parent, child, sibling or spouse of any applicant or those living in the same household as any of the foregoing) of members, employees and directors of CEE shall not be eligible to participate. Additionally, CEE employs a non-discrimination policy in all of its activities and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability or sexual orientation in determining the award winner.