Creative commitments to FinLit education

At a time when loan defaults for students graduating from some colleges are at record highs and millennials are having a hard time answering basic investment questions, it's not a surprise that a March survey found that 87 percent of millennials think financial literacy should be taught in schools..Two Upper Midwest banks have taken financial literacy education to heart and have worked diligently with school districts in their markets to create fun and all-encompassing approaches to the topic..Community State Bank in Union Grove, Wis., a bank with $320 million in assets, created MyLIFE in 2013. MyLIFE stands for My Local Interactive Financial Education, a program that brings high school students a curriculum, classes throughout the school year and a half-day MyLIFE event..Think of the MyLIFE event as an interactive, reality version of the game of Life, only conducted in the school gym with volunteers playing different roles. It often has a police officer to give students speeding tickets. It also features other unexpected life events that help make it more real. Greg Wall, marketing director at the bank, described it as a "snapshot" of what an adult would have to go through in a month of paying bills..By the time the event comes around, the bank coordinators know the students and their desired job type. They use that knowledge to give the students a career and appropriate salary for the MyLIFE event. Then, randomizing software assigns a marital status and number of children to each student..With financial circumstance thus assigned, the MyLIFE experience begins. Students, usually 11th graders, gather in the high school gym. Teachers, administrators and local business people help provide the real life experiences by manning stations for insurance, child support, groceries, etc. "A lot of them find challenges with their budgets and find creative ways to find more money," Wall said. "I think a big part of that was getting real business people involved – car salesmen selling cars, realtors selling real estate.".At Union Grove High School, it takes about 50 volunteers from the business community, some 20 from the bank and up to 10 school faculty members to implement the program. "Most of the businesses that [volunteer for] this the first time are hesitant to give up half a day. But after they do it the first time, they're hooked. They really understand the value in it," said Scott Huedepohl, CSB president and CEO..The program is now in five schools and has twice won the Wisconsin Financial Literacy Award from the Governor's Council on Financial Literacy presented by the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions and the governor..After the event, the bank does exit interviews to find out what went well, what kids liked or appreciated, and especially how the students were impacted. "Kids are pretty wide-eyed," Wall said. They'll say things like "I have a better appreciation for the kind of stuff my parents have to go through on a monthly basis." And the cost of groceries and childcare surprise many of them. And, Huedepohl added, "They don't have a clue what it costs for cell phones! We've actually had a couple kids get very emotional by the end of the time because they have no idea that it's this difficult to manage day to day finances.".While it is something other banks can emulate, Wall cautions that the program requires a significant time and resources commitment. The bank is looking at packaging MyLIFE so "we could present that to other banks and make it as simple as possible," Huedepohl said. But, he suggested, the best way to see how this works is to be at one. "Be a volunteer at one of ours so [bankers] can come in and really get a feel, see what happens."."We're a little biased but we think it's the best program in America," Huedepohl said..In Treynor, Iowa, another bank has staked a claim in financial literacy. It has focused on creating financial literacy that is immersed and woven throughout every aspect of education..In 2008, when the recession hit, Treynor State Bank CEO Josh Guttau felt the financial crash was a result of a general lack of financial literacy across the country. Guttau also knew from his experience on the school board that financial literacy mandates were coming in 2012 and 2014 for Iowa schools. He wanted to get ahead of that and expand on those mandates. At that same time, while other banks were working through the fallout of the 2008 crisis, Treynor State Bank – known as TS Bank – was performing well..TS Bank leaders planned to work alongside schools to meet the mandates. When they realized how little resources or support schools had to integrate the mandates into the curriculum, they created the TS Institute with 10 percent of the bank's pre-tax profits; TS Bank continues what Guttau called "a tithe" to the 501(c)3 foundation each year..TS Bank hired Bob Mantell in 2009 when it created and piloted the institute's curriculum, which is designed to adhere to the state's six financial "common core" standards. "We feel it is part of our responsibility to arm consumers with the facts, because the more educated they become, the better decisions they can make about their financial futures – and the earlier they learn it, the better," Guttau said..TS Institute provides training to elementary, middle school and high school teachers. Now, second-graders draw savings plans in art class and eighth graders write essays on mortgage rates. The curriculum also includes the first fully chartered student bank in Iowa at Thomas Jefferson High School in addition to other student branches which makes it the first K-12 branch system in Iowa, and the second in the nation to include financial literacy curriculum support. TS bank has since hired three of the high school tellers at its "adult" brick and mortar branches..Leaders at TS Bank noted an unintended benefit in the change in perspective on banking of people who had no banking relationship. They learned the value of banking from their children and grandchildren. The institute also reaches adults through programs offered at local colleges, non-profits, homeless shelters, juvenile detention centers and more..Mantell, along with TS Institute's financial literacy manager Kyle Osborne, just finished a 47-city tour during which they visited banks. Bankers could bring the area school superintendent, the city economic director, and others to hear about TS Institute's experience, about best practices in financial literacy education, and how to get over road blocks. "Everything that we've gotten good at, we've given away," Osborne said. "It isn't just about TS Bank or TS Institute; it's about every single person in the financial space giving away what they're good at so the community will prosper."