Mission Viejo's Charles Kastens named Koelbel Enterprising Teacher of the Year
Posted Monday, March 9, 2020 2:52 pm
Staff report
A teacher from Mission Viejo Elementary School has been named the 2020 Koelbel Enterprising Teacher of the Year.
Charles Kastens will receive his award March 13 at the annual Colorado Council for the Social Studies Conference at the History Colorado Center in Denver.
This year marks the 33rd year that Economic Literacy Colorado has selected a deserving teacher to be recognized for their exemplary teaching of personal financial and/or economic education, which provide students with essential skills they will use throughout life.
When Kastens started teaching 21 years ago, he was committed to teaching his students money management skills, and to this day, he has done just that. He weaves engaging economic or personal finance activities into math, reading and classroom management.
“Whether a child I teach grows up to be a doctor, architect, chef, office manager, or grocery store clerk, they are each going to have financial resources to manage,” Kastens said in a news release. “I strive to provide relevant, engaging lessons on how money works and how to control your money, not be controlled by it.”
Kastens served four years on the Academic Advisory Board for the Denver Branch of the Kansas City Federal Reserve and serves as a mentor teacher for Economic Literacy Colorado's teacher workshops.
This Koelbel Enterprising Teacher of the Year award is named in honor of Buz and Sherri Koelbel, longtime supporters of Economic Literacy Colorado and the teaching of economics and personal finance to teachers and students. The recognition of an exemplary teacher is what they had in mind when they lent their name to this award in 2016. Donors created an endowment in the Koelbel's name to help subsidize the $2,000 cash prize associated with the award.