An important lesson that we can take advantage of, and one that can last a lifetime, is a focus on financial education. Sasha Rindone, a Special Education teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School in Council Bluffs, IA has a passion for teaching her students how to be financially responsible. “We often take for granted how important it is to understand the details around taking care of our finances. I want to make sure our students feel prepared to handle their finances once they graduate from high school,” said Rindone.
In her classroom, Rindone creates a mock financial institution called TJ ELP Bank. She makes each student fake credit and debit cards, checks with account numbers, deposit slips and check registers so the students learn about the various resources they will use daily. “The students are very engaged in learning about financial education. They ask if they are putting the information on check registers correctly and they love writing the checks and learning how to balance a checkbook,” said Rindone.
The class also focuses on savings and loans. Each student receives a mock paycheck where they decide how much of their paycheck will be used to pay bills, how much will go into savings and how much money will be left for fun activities. “I want to make sure each student fully understands how important it is to save money,” said Rindone.
As a long-term Centris Federal Credit Union member herself, Rindone reached out to the Centris Council Bluffs branch manager, Robert Ahrens, and asked if he would be willing to donate piggy banks to her class. She wanted to use the piggy banks to help the students understand the concept of deposits and withdrawals, and see the importance of saving for their future. “We were more than happy to support Sasha as she helped her students learn about financial responsibility. The more we can engage a younger generation in financial education, the faster they will grow to understand the positive impact that saving and investing can make on their financial well-being,” said Ahrens.
The students are told to save as much change as they can in one month. At the end of the month, the class takes a trip to the Centris branch location at Avenue G in Council Bluffs where they tour the branch, see how change is counted and meet the Centris staff. “Some of our students have never been in a bank setting and are very excited to see the process of exchanging their coins for cash,” said Rindone.
Each student leaves the branch with a Centris gift bag and knowledge of how a credit union or bank handles their money. “It is so important to me that I instill in my students the life skills that will help them in their future. The more they know, the more they will excel in their life. Centris is an amazing partner who allows our students to see first-hand the importance of banking,” said Rindone.
We salute Sasha Rindone for her amazing dedication to her students! Thank you, Sasha, for being a long-term Centris Federal Credit Union member and an outstanding citizen in the Council Bluffs community.
