Our PTO has been approached with the same idea...wonderif it's the same bank?
The school has a consern with handling the money and the fact that we will need access to a computer, catching kids fromlunch to recess time and handling of the money.

The reps giving the sales pitch were great but the red flag that came to my mind...volunteers! Crips, I'm struggling getting enough hands to help with our food/toy drive and that's one day let alone once a month or once a week.

Bertha, I'm with you.
JMES, I don't want to turn away a great oppertunity for the kids but I can't do it all and I need the school's support to do this and it's just not there.

Bertha, I have to respond to your question of should you bother at all.

It may seem like a lot of work for saving a few quarters, but consider this: the average high school graduate doesn’t have the skills to manage their personal finances. They can’t balance a checkbook and have no idea about the basics of earning, spending, saving and investing. A lot of young people mess up their first credit card, develop bad money habits and like most of us, learned the hard way. I always say I wish I knew then what I know now.

Teaching our kids to save the quarter now will help them to put away that $25 or that $2500 in the future. Aren’t parent groups around to enhance the educational experiences of our children? What better way than to help them learn smart money management which usually isn’t fully integrated in the curriculum.

Based on the suggestion you received, you can find a simple way to bring banking to the school. And while you are at it, take a look at this website www.jumpstart.org. Look under Resources, then Websites to find a list of links to sites with programs set up to help your kids learn about money. I work for one of the banks listed and the curriculum and website they developed are great. There are lesson plans (written and online) for grades 4 – 12 and for adults. You can even order it on a CD.

Bertha, please don’t shy away from this challenge.

We do have a school banking program at our school. It is a great program. Not only have individual students enrolled, our school store, and student council have opened accounts. It is very easy - the bank sends a teller out and we have 1 parent who helps. The children love banking day, because they always get stickers, or pencils. They also receive gifts for different reasons. We have chosen to run ours every other week. It has been great! We use Country Bank (we are in MA)

We had a bank approach us for a similar project, but we declined. The idea of trying to keep track of a quarter at a time was pretty mind-numbing. I like the idea of the bank providing the staff to handle it, though. It would be good to help the kids develop a good savings habit.

We have a kid's bank at our school. It is run by the bank(who is our school business) partner, two teachers act as sponsors and students(4th and 5th graders) and volunteers staff it. One day a week the kids come and make deposits and withdrawals. There are at least two people from the bank there to oversee it and handle getting the money back and forth to the bank. The bank also pays a better interest rate on these accounts than what you would get by opening a savings account at the bank. It's a great learning experience for all the kids. Would this bank be interested in something like this instead of putting it on the PTO's shoulders?

Hi Serendipity, I like that idea. But I'm wondering if we should even bother with it at all?