Hampton Bays High School adding a banking center to boost students' financial literacy
Students at Hampton Bays High School will soon be able to open their own bank account, make deposits and withdrawals, and otherwise polish their financial skills at a new banking center inside the school.
The creation of the banking center, called the Baymen Financial Literacy Center, aims to instill in students the money management skills they'll need heading into adulthood, said Superintendent Lars Clemensen. It opens Feb. 29.
"We want to make sure financial literacy is a common language for kids," Clemensen said. "We don't want our kids leaving here and signing up for their first credit card, not knowing what to do."
The initiative comes as many educators across the country push for schools to provide more real-life teaching about handling personal finances. The state Board of Regents is considering making instruction in financial planning a requirement for a New York high school diploma.
Hampton Bays' school banking center, also open to faculty and staff, was built out of an old school store using a $30,000 state grant and will be staffed by a bilingual teller employed by the Teachers Federal Credit Union for two days a week, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Noy Kakkar, the credit union vice president of retail, said the banking center is part of the credit union's commitment to helping the community.
School officials will communicate with parents regarding each child's account, and any checking account would have to be co-opened with a parent, Clemensen said. Students would not be able to apply for loans, and the banking center will not be open to the general public in order to maintain school security, he said.
"Having that center accessible in the building allows kids to put away $5 for a class trip or $10 toward a school ring," he said.
Clemensen noted that 65% of district students are considered economically disadvantaged, and he hoped that more instruction in financial management could help them break the cycle of poverty that can affect generation after generation.
Earlier this month, representatives of the state comptroller's office urged the Regents to make personal finance a diploma requirement. Students aren't currently required to take a financial literacy course in high schools across New York, though they are mandatory in a growing number of states.
Roger Tilles, Long Island's longtime representative on the Regents board, has said he is pleased the board was moving in the right direction and that he expected formal action within a few months.
The Hampton Bays district also has developed a “Cost of the Student Experience,” a financial breakdown of anticipated costs throughout students' four years of high school, including class trips, college visits, prom tickets and college application fees.
“As students plan for their future, many extracurricular costs are difficult or impossible for some families to afford,” said Diane Fox, the district's director of bilingual and alternative education. “This partnership will provide students with an opportunity to budget and use funds wisely for their high school and post-high school goals."
The Hampton Bays district already offers a high school elective class in personal finance and is enhancing its financial literacy and money management instruction across the grades, Clemensen said.
He said the school banking center "is a visual symbol of financial literacy. Students will see this as a place to go to take care of important things."
Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
