Shelley Ascanio, Citizens Bank branch manager, lead a group of Lakeside third grade students through the bank’s vault, garnering plenty of questions about the function of safe deposit boxes.
One girl asked if she could put her bicycle in the safe deposit box.
But perhaps the most telling interaction came from a boy who wanted to keep his video games in a safe deposit box so his brother wouldn’t take them.
“I told him that if he did that he could only access the video games during bank hours,” Ascanio said. “He decided that maybe he wouldn’t do that, then.”
The visit by three classes of Lakeside Elementary third grade students to Citizens Bank was presented primarily by Pittsburg State’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE).
The students rotated through three stations:
• At one station, the students participated in a Jeopardy-like competition about finance concepts.
• Another station had the students doing simple math problems like those used in basic financing.
• Ascanio led the final station, a tour of the bank and the vault. Students each got an opportunity to hold a bag containing $50 in pennies.
The event, put on by SIFE, was organized to help teach children at a young age about financing and banking.
“It’s a fun day that they can come to the bank and play games,” said Sam Johnson, project co-chairman. “As part of Gorilla Savings, we are trying to teach financial literacy skills that will be used throughout their lifetime.”
As part of the program, students were given the opportunity to come back to Citizens Bank and start a savings account. This year, Citizens Bank will put the first $5 in that account.
“We did get to see a lot of kids’ siblings come in last year and start an account, too,” Ascanio said. “Their brothers and sisters would want to do what their older sibling was doing, and so parents would take them in all at once and do it as a family project.”
In addition to that, the finance and banking projects are also a key part of the third grade curriculum.
“The kids have been excited about their worksheets. They were particularly interested in how to build interest without doing extra work,” said Sandy Haile, Lakeside teacher. “The money thing is really big with the state standards. We’ve been reviewing who is on the different coins and bills. It’s valuable information. They need a lot of that for tests.”
Andrew Nash can be reached at andrew.nash@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 ext. 132.
