Students at a Kansas City high school are learning real-life banking skills by running their own credit union in the school.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Studies indicate the generation gap for financial literacy is getting wider. More teens are getting their financial advice from social media. So there’s a nationwide effort to help young people find another way. More than 200 credit unions are operating in schools, mostly in high schools, where students learn to manage money firsthand. Jodi Fortino with member station KCUR takes us to a branch in Kansas City.
JODI FORTINO, BYLINE: The credit union at Winnetonka High School is located right down the hallway from the cafeteria. David Milosevic is a senior and an employee.
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FORTINO: One of his tasks is running stacks of bills through the cash counter.
DAVID MILOSEVIC: So I’m counting the money right now and making sure this machine here, it’ll pull out any money that could be suspicious or maybe it’s just too crinkled.
FORTINO: This is a branch of CSD Credit Union, which serves members in the Kansas City area. It’s a full-service location for Winnetonka students and staff, and only the second student-run credit union in Missouri. Edward Watts is the CSD Credit Union CEO. He says a regular credit union supervisor manages the high school branch.
EDWARD WATTS: We are dealing with real accounts. We’re dealing with real debit cards. We’re dealing with real cash. So when we mean it’s real hands-on learning, it is just that.
FORTINO: The credit union’s goal for a student-run location is to help more young people become financially literate. Watts says this work is important because social media influencers who, at least online, seem affluent, are making teens curious about how to get rich.
WATTS: TikTok and other screen-forward apps don’t paint an accurate picture of the financial challenges that are actually out there for our youth.
FORTINO: Eighteen-year-old Milosevic says his focus is on creating a welcoming space where other students can ask any questions. And he says his peers are often curious about simple topics that they might not have learned either from school or from their parents.
MILOSEVIC: Like a checking account or a high-yield savings, how to open a debit card, how to open a credit card, what a credit card even is. So I feel like making sure that people know the basics is what we really, really lean on and what we are always working hard to teach people.
FORTINO: Working at the credit union has even made some students change their post-high school plans. Alexus Palacios (ph), a senior, had her mind set on becoming an interior designer or a quinceanera stylist when she graduates later this spring.
ALEXUS PALACIOS: Now my plans have changed. I now want to be a bank teller at an actual bank.
FORTINO: Watts, the Credit Union CEO, says some financial institutions have invested in more ATMs and artificial intelligence to cut workforce cost. But he thinks the bank teller job will continue to be relevant. He says there’s always a time that a consumer needs face-to-face interaction. Watts adds the high school branch is teaching students skills they can use, even if they don’t want a job in a bank.
WATTS: The program is actually set up first to teach skills that are applicable to any profession, proper communication, adaptability, team building, respect, integrity.
FORTINO: And bank teller Palacios says that’s exactly what they’re learning.
PALACIOS: I say everyone here is trustworthy. We’re not supposed to tell anybody about what we see. We don’t tell anybody about what we see. We make sure that everyone’s privacy is hidden, and we keep it that way.
FORTINO: And that’s the type of real-world learning credit union supervisors say is important, especially for students who will be entering college because they’ll have the money management skills they need to be successful.
For NPR News, I’m Jodi Fortino in Kansas City.
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