Aspen Heights Elementary in Red Deer will have $7,000 to spend on new supplies and equipment for their MicroSociety program, after receiving the Ken Spencer Award this afternoon.
 
Program coordinator Allan Baile said it's great to be recognized for all their hard work and said the skills the students are learning will only help them as they get older.
 
“It shows them that they’re capable of doing things, capable of taking care of their own money and capable of being an entrepreneur themselves.”
 
“We have a lot of students here who are thinking that way already and looking to find ways to earn money and to be their own bosses."
 
Their MicroSociety is a thriving, modern-day, mini-country run by its students and includes an elected government, an entrepreneurial hub, non-profit organizations along with a University and College.
 
Chief Executive Officer for the Canadian Education Association Ron Canuel said he could tell just by the number of people who attended the presentation that the community is fully on board.
 
“In this case here, we saw the parents, we saw alumni, we saw community representatives, we saw board-level trustees plus all the educators.”
 
“That to me is an important signal of the type of support this community actually lends to this initiative.”
 
The MicroSociety has been running for nine years.