IN THE CLASSROOM -- Banking on it

Deirdre Newman

Fifth-graders throughout the district are getting a head start on a

subject some adults still struggle with -- balancing their checkbooks.

Over the past month, the students have been learning banking basics,

including how to write deposit slips, read their registry and save their

money. A collaborative effort between the Newport-Mesa Unified School

District and Downey Savings makes the program possible.

The program gives Downey -- established in Newport Beach in 1975 -- a

chance to give back to the community while providing students with

practical skills that are often overlooked throughout their educational

careers.

“If you develop good habits when you’re young, then you’ll have good

habits when you’re developed,” said Carrie Clark, Downey’s field

marketing manager.

The Banking Basics program includes a workbook to learn how to save

money, set goals and learn how a checking account is used. Downey also

donated calculators to the schools to help the students keep track of

their credits and debits.

At Wilson Elementary School in Costa Mesa, Carol Redford has put her

own creative twist on the program, giving students fake money for saving

and spending.

Redford said she always wanted to establish a banking system in her

class and jumped at the opportunity to incorporate it into the Downey

program. She created a list of charges and debits that students add to.

Credits in their accounts include accomplishments such as projects

completed on time and random acts of kindness. Redford then charges them

for things such as their desks and silly questions.

“I love the idea of charging them for their desks,” Redford said. “I

told them they could actually lose their desks, and they worry about that

sometimes.”

As Redford’s class is a combination of fourth- and fifth-graders, she

wanted to ensure they all grasped the banking concepts. Their savvy

financial acumen made her proud.

“What impresses me is their excitement about banking and their

understanding of the debit-credit process,” Redford said.

On a recent visit to Redford’s classroom, Clark said she got “sort of

teary-eyed” seeing the banking program in action.

“The kids all talked about the things we wanted them to get out of

it,” Clark said.

Student Ramon Calderon said the financial information he has learned

will come in handy when he is older.

“We get to know how to write checks so when I grow up, I won’t have to

ask people,” Ramon said. “And now I know how to save money because

sometimes I just want to waste it.”

Redford’s students have been so savvy that she has decided to continue

the program for the rest of the school year on her own and plans to

auction off fun items at the end of the year.

Downey also sponsors an art contest based on the program in which the

students will have a chance to win certificates of deposits for

themselves and computers for their school.

* IN THE CLASSROOM is a weekly feature in which Daily Pilot education

writer Deirdre Newman visits a campus in the Newport-Mesa area and writes

about her experience.