Banking on the future

Michelle Mogel with Franklin Federal uses storytelling to impart a lesson about fiscal responsibility to Jenny Andrews’ second-grade class at Evergreen Elementary School last month. Lisa Billings/Chesterfield Observer It’s never too early to start teaching children about financial responsibility, and with the help of Chesterfield County Public Schools and several local banks, the task has gotten easier.

Three local banks are working with county schools, offering financial literacy courses and encouraging students to develop the habit of saving.

“Financial literacy is important to all of us,” said Jennifer Merritt, vice president and director of marketing and community programs for Franklin Federal Savings Bank. “During the past year there have been so many problems with people overextending and not saving enough. We saw there was a great need for going out and teaching about finance.”

In response to that need, Franklin Federal developed a program for second-graders called “Making Money Count,” Essex Bank has partnered with J.B. Watkins Elementary to establish the J.B. Watkins Savings Bank and the Chesterfield Federal Credit Union is ready and available for in-class presentations and teaching at all levels.

Although each bank uses different tactics, they’re all teaching the same message: save for the future.

Watkins Elementary Principal Marlene Scott believes so strongly in teaching kids about saving that she opened the J.B. Watkins Savings Bank in partnership with Essex Bank. The bank sends representatives to the school three times a week to give students the opportunity to open accounts or deposit money. Students are so excited to deposit their money that they sometimes try to deposit lunch money, Scott said.

Bank representatives are also available to help teachers with math- or finance-related lessons in the classroom.

“It’s an opportunity for the bank to partner with the community and for kids to learn from specialists in the community,” Scott said. “It’s all to support and enhance the curriculum, and it helps with the SOLs.”

Other banks are taking Virginia’s SOLs into consideration, too. Michelle Mogel, who developed “Making Money Count” for Franklin Federal, said one of the reasons she chose to design her own program was to better tailor the material to the SOL benchmarks. As a former math teacher for CCPS, Mogel said she used her past experience to help her, and based the curriculum on three ideas: What would she want her own kids to learn? What’s going on in the world around us that shows us what kids need to learn? And, how can we help the teachers?

The program focuses on teaching broad concepts of personal finance and incorporates a number of activities to accommodate students’ learning styles. The hour-long program includes chalkboard math, role-playing, reading, a worksheet and a song.

Mogel and Merritt piloted the program at 10 Richmond City Public Schools last year. The bank’s board of directors wanted to expand the program and provided the financial resources to hire four more teachers to conduct the sessions. This is the program’s first full year, but more than 7,700 second-graders in Richmond and Chesterfield and Hanover counties will have participated in the program by the end of this school year.

Students who already passed second grade might still have a chance to benefit from bank-sponsored education programs. Chris Miller from the Chesterfield Federal Credit Union teaches financial literacy courses to classes throughout the county. Most of Miller’s classes are high-school level, but he’s taught to other age groups on occasion, he said.

Chesterfield Federal has also hosted family-oriented events to get children interested in finance. Last year the bank held a Family Fun Day with games and tours in conjunction with the opening of a new branch. Miller said it went so well that he plans to host another one soon.

No matter the program, feedback to banks and school administrators has been almost entirely positive. And, parents appreciate that their kids are learning more than just finance – they’re also learning life skills.

“We’re trying to teach these children that when you make a good decision, it might not feel good now, but in the long run it’ll make you feel good and proud,” Mogel said. “We hope they learn to be goal-setters.”

Ultimately, all these lessons are to benefit the students when they grow into adults and take part in the economy, Merritt said.

“If every second-grader could get this lesson – I wish I had this lesson – maybe we wouldn’t be in this economic situation we’re in right now.”