Resources

New York City announces that it is opening a bank branch in a Bronx high school. Education officials hope students who open accounts there or work as tellers will gain some financial literacy as they become familiar with how a bank operates.

From a city news release:

Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein today announced the opening of New York City’s first-ever student-run retail bank branch, on the Theodore Roosevelt High School campus in the Fordham section of the Bronx. A collaboration between North Fork Bank and Fordham Leadership Academy for Business and Technology, one of the schools on the Roosevelt campus, the branch will be staffed by 10 seniors at Fordham Leadership Academy who last year trained as tellers in other branches. The bank will offer a limited menu of products aimed at encouraging students to save and will be used as a tool to promote financial literacy throughout the six schools on the campus.

The branch will operate two teller stations and two customer service desks three days a week from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The student-tellers will earn $11 per hour. A veteran North Fork branch manager will oversee operations. The 2,500 students on campus will be able to open savings accounts; teachers and administrators will have use of expanded services. The branch will not be open to the public.

To prepare for the opening, students worked last summer at other North Fork branches in the Bronx to obtain hands-on experience as tellers and customer service representatives. They also spent two weeks undergoing formal teller training at North Fork’s New York City training center. Along with their banking duties, the students will visit classrooms throughout the school to educate their peers about financial planning and the importance of establishing savings plans. North Fork, a subsidiary of Capital One, will not earn any money from the bank’s operations.

What do you think about having a bank branch on a high school campus? Leave a comment below.