‘Your Wallet’: Savings program improves the financial future of Nebraska students

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A savings program in elementary schools is changing the financial future of Nebraska students.

It’s teaching them life skills and getting them talking about finances.

“I’m a bank teller,” said Briana Bryan, a fifth grader at Arnold Elementary School in Lincoln.

She already has a resume started. It’s thanks to the in-school savings program with Cattle Bank and Trust.

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Every Wednesday morning, second through fifth grade students line up to deposit money into their savings account. Then, at the end of fifth grade, or when they leave the school, students cash out their savings.

And some students are bank tellers.

“It helped me a lot because when I was in like third and fourth grade, I needed a lot of help with math,” Bryan said. “I kept asking my dad, ‘How do I do this? How do I do this?’ But now I can just go and stuff without my dad.”

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Along with teaching life skills, the program is changing the way kids think about money — and taking the unknown or intimidation out of financial institutions.

“We want them to learn good financial skills early in elementary school, so they know how to save in the future,” said Dayna Krannawitter, the coordinator of the Community Learning Center at Arnold. “We also want them to learn about financial institutions. What does a bank look like, how do you make a deposit, how do you fill out a ledger?”

The Nebraska Council on Economic Education started the program in 2002, and there’s proof that it’s working.

“What the research is showing is that once students reach high school, if they had participated in this program in elementary school, they have their own checking and savings accounts, said Jennifer Davidson, president of the council. “They’re working, they’re saving and they’re saving at higher rates compared to students who didn’t participate.”

Davidson said that the program is changing the financial future for these kids and that interest from schools and banks is growing, just like their savings.

“When you put your heart and soul into your career and you see this kind of return and people wanting to jump on board with you and expand it and reach more students, it’s amazing.” Davidson said.

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Currently, there are 50 branches at schools from border to border in Nebraska, and 16 more are opening this fall. On average, students save about $55 per school year.

Bryan said that even after the program, she plans to continue saving.

“It taught me that I can save my money,” she said. “At the end of fifth grade, I’ll get my money back, and after that, I’ll be proud of myself because I’ll have a lot of money saved up.”

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The program relies on donations and grants to make this all possible.

If you’d like to support the cause, follow the link for more information: Nebraska Council on Economic Education.

Editor’s note: This report is part of a weekly series Channel 8 is airing called “Your Wallet.”  We’ll be looking into any topics that deal with your money. The reports air every Monday during the Channel 8 News at 6 p.m.