The MCC Center for Economic Education is part of a nationwide network of university and community college-based centers which provide teacher training and curriculum development for America's K-12 schools. The new Center at MCC is the sixth in the United States to be housed at a Community College.

"The Center at MCC will help strengthen economic understanding and financial literacy throughout Arizona and by partnering with economic educators across the country we will empower teachers, students and community members to better understand the world through the economic way of thinking," stated Greg Pratt, former MCC Economics Faculty and founding Director for the MCC Center for Economic Education.

MCC's Center for Economic Education will improve economic literacy of current and future citizens of the state by providing educational and training programs and materials for teachers of K-12 classes. The Center conducts workshops, seminars, for-credit classes and other professional development opportunities for educators. In addition, the Center acts as a clearinghouse for the gathering and dissemination of economics based curriculum, lesson plans, activities and other resources that K-12 educators can easily implement into literature, math and science lessons already being taught. The Center also hosts the annual state-wide Mayors' Challenge for Economic Education which includes four competitions: Economics Challenge, Finance Challenge, Economics Critical Thinking Competition, Personal Finance Case Study Competition.

Elena Zee, Arizona Council on Economic Education President, commented, "The Center for Economic Education at MCC provides quality training for teachers in the Phoenix-metro area that are tasked with teaching Arizona's K-12 Economics Standards and the economics course required for high school graduation. This center serves as a model that can be replicated to take advantage of the vast community college network in Arizona to reach educators across the state that have been historically underserved."

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