Banking program aims to make Shaler Area students fiscally responsible
Shaler Area Elementary School students lined up in a repurposed classroom on a recent morning with cash and checks in hand, all set to deposit them in the school bank.
The elementary school's PNC school bank program, spearheaded by elementary gifted-education teacher Heather Oros, kicked off its first in-school banking day during homeroom Dec. 11 with the goal of making students more financially savvy. Fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders participated in the program.
Fifth-grader Asher King, 10, held a check from his grandparents and some cash from his father as he waited to deposit the money. Asher said he's great at saving money, so he'll be back as much as he can.
“I'm saving up for an iPhone,” Asher said. “I'll probably buy one for my birthday in April.”
Three pairs of sixth-graders served as tellers and took deposits, marked them in the books and gave students receipts. Students then recorded their deposits in a simplified transaction register. During the first morning of banking, 31 deposits were made by students.
“Hopefully, kids will start making better choices and thinking about how they are spending their money,” Oros said.
Laura Swiss, community consultant with PNC, said getting students comfortable with handling their finances early on is a key to financial responsibility and independence. Students can begin to associate the money they are saving with big-ticket items they'd like to buy, she said.
“It makes them more aware of money and more aware of their goals,” Swiss said. “Savings for everyone is important. You can save for things that matter.”
An informational banking night was held a couple of weeks ago to get students signed up for savings accounts with PNC, and 45 students signed up. The savings accounts are free and require no minimum balance until the students turn 18, Oros said. Students have complete control over their accounts, she said.
The program not only teaches students the ins and outs of banking from a client's perspective, it also teaches a group of sixth-graders about the role of bank tellers. Sixth-graders applied for the role of teller, and Oros selected 18 for training during two class periods the week prior to the first banking day.
Oros said she hopes to have more tellers working each banking morning as the number of participating students grows.
Sixth-grade tellers Sage Caplan and Emily Peterson, who worked during the first banking morning, said they applied because they thought it would be an interesting experience, although neither of them had any prior experience with banking.
“I really like math, so I thought it would be fun,” Emily said. “It's been a good experience so far.”
Teaching personal-finance lessons when children are young is critical for making students personally and socially responsibly for their decisions, said Audrey Murrell, associate dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh.
“It helps reinforce what you're teaching in the classroom,” Murrell said.
The school bank will be open during homeroom every other Thursday, beginning Jan. 15. A student may not bring in more than $20 in cash but may bring in a check for any amount that is made out to the student, Oros said.
If students want to make a deposit into their account between in-school banking days, they may visit their local PNC branch in Shaler, Etna or Millvale.
Students or parents interested in learning more about the program can find information on the Shaler Area Elementary website at sasd.k12.pa.us/shalerareaelementaryschool_home.aspx under the “News” heading.
Rachel Farkas is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-772-6364 or rfarkas@tribweb.com.
