The Budget Challenge Blog

David Edelman, a teacher from Union Square Academy for Health Sciences in New York City, joins the Budget Challenge blog as our first featured guest blogger! Read about how teaching personal finance intertwines with civic participation and how Mr. Edelman approaches the subjects of government and economics. In addition, Mr. Edelman explains the process of applying for a NEA grant, which he is using to cover the costs of Budget Challenge at his school.

At Budget Challenge we know that Covid-19 stressed already tight school budgets making it difficult for some schools to purchase our program. The good news is that help is on the way! The new $900 billion federal Covid-19 relief bill signed into law December 27 provided $54.3 billion in new federal funds for public K-12 schools and $2.75 billion for private schools. This is in addition to the previous CARES Act ESSER dollars. This received virtually no media coverage because so much attention was focused on the size of stimulus payments to individuals and whether the president would sign the bill into law.

We love sharing creative ways that teachers secure funding for Budget Challenge. Teachers who have earned the appropriate number of points with DonorsChoose can request a Special Project. Carrie Rugenstein, a math teacher at Lincoln High School in Owosso, MI recently shared how she was able to secure funding for Budget Challenge with the help of DonorsChoose and a community sponsor.

Did you know that Budget Challenge is eligible for full funding under the CARES Act Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (“ESSER”) funds? Find out more here: