Schenectady High School is celebrating 20 years of a unique program to provide students financial education.
Staffed by students, the Patriot Branch of First New York Federal Credit Union serves fellow students as well as teachers and school staff. Speaking at the full-service branch Friday, Schenectady City School District Superintendent Dr. Carlos Cotto says students are receiving valuable career skills.
“The soft skills, just talking to individuals in community, and all those skills are easily transferable into any career. There's ups and downs in reference to those conversations that have to take place. So it helps to build around how to go about communicating in a way that's effective, but also in a way that's nurturing and welcoming,” Cotto said.
Nicole Peek is a business teacher at Schenectady High School. She says student volunteers go through a real-life hiring process.
“They fill out an application, they have an interview. They have to have parent and teacher references. So these students are wonderful students who participate in the bank. They have to engage in communication skills,” Peek said.
Amesha Bacchus is a senior at Schenectady High and the manager of the Patriot Branch. She says she started as a teller and worked her way up.
“We would have a lot of kids wanting to sign up and being encouraged, because I myself would try to drive kids in and tell them about the advantages that you do get while having a bank account at such a young age,” Bacchus said.
While she’s still figuring out her college plans, Bacchus says her experience working for the credit union has given her an idea.
“Currently, I will be planning to do a business administration or business management” Bacchus said.
Capital Region Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President Pete Bardunias says students are also honing their personal finance skills. Bardunias says he didn't have such an opportunity when he was in high school decades ago.
“Where I come from, they didn't really do this. They didn't teach students the basics of something as simple as financial literacy, how to sign a check, how to make sure you do things to actually protect your own finances. And it's quite a learning experience,” Bardunias said.
Democrat Angelo Santabarbara, whose 111th State Assembly district includes Schenectady High, chairs the Committee on Libraries and Education Technology. He says financial education needs to be made a priority.
“You see a lot of people graduate high school and they've never been formally taught about managing money. So that's an issue that that should be addressed in some way. And I think this is one of the ways,” Santabarbara said.
First New York Federal Credit Union also hosts student-run, full-service branches at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake and Mohonasen High Schools.
