Newburyport High School (NHS) students will have a unique opportunity to learn firsthand what it takes to be a real-life banker when the Institution for Savings opens its newest Educational School Bank within NHS in January.
The NHS Educational School Bank was unanimously approved by the Newburyport School Committee earlier this year. Planning and construction is already underway to renovate existing space adjacent to the Clipper Café, the school’s cafeteria.
Like the bank’s established school banks within Triton Regional and Ipswich High Schools, the NHS School Bank will be a fully functioning banking office, offering checking, savings and other personal banking products and services to students, staff and the public for several hours a day when school is in session. The Educational School Bank will be staffed by fully trained NHS students and supervised by a bank employee.
"We are pleased to take our longstanding commitment to the education and financial literacy of Newburyport students to the next level by opening this new school bank within NHS," said Michael J. Jones, president and CEO of the Institution for Savings. "Our experience with our two existing school banks in Ipswich and Triton is that this innovative venture gives high school students a stronger sense of financial responsibility while also teaching them much-needed skills they need to work in a real-life professional environment."
For the first year, student bankers will be trained and scheduled through the school’s school-to-career internship program overseen by NHS staff member Cheryl Zaino. Future plans are to expand the program to incorporate a classroom component similar to the programs the bank underwrites at Triton and Ipswich, beginning with the 2012-13 school year.
"We’re thrilled that the Institution for Savings has stepped up to offer this exciting opportunity for our students," said Newburyport Superintendent of Schools Marc Kerble. "Given the current challenges in our global economy it is clear that teaching our students critical lessons in financial management and literacy is vital to their future well-being. The Institution for Savings continues to be a great partner in this endeavor, and we look forward to expanding our current partnership with this new venture."
