By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
Last month, Christina New’s Cazenovia High School finance class partnered with Burton Street Elementary School Librarian Katie McGinnis to roll out the Empower Federal Credit Union Dollar Dog Program — a new financial literacy initiative for students from kindergarten to fourth grade.
According to New, the program, which starts this month, encourages students to save money by opening a savings account with the credit union.
Every other Tuesday morning, registered participants will be given the opportunity to deposit any monetary amount into their accounts and receive prizes.
“A table will be set up in the foyer for the children to make an easy deposit before school starts,” New said. “ . . . [My finance students] have volunteered to assist in manning the table on mornings . . . when Empower Credit Union visits Burton Street to collect the students’ savings and to continue to encourage them to save at a young age.”
The goal of the program, according to the Dollar Dog website, is to help children understand the benefits of responsible money management in a fun way.
On Nov. 15, the finance class — along with a few members of the high school economics class — presented the details of the program during the Burton Street Character Education Assembly.
“When I told my finance class of the program, they were eager to help roll it out,” New said.
During the assembly, Ryan Romagnoli, a senior, delivered a presentation on the importance of saving. The rest of the class shared some of the things that they are personally saving up for like a car, college, a new phone or a concert.
The high school students were accompanied by the Dollar Dog mascot to help build excitement.
“The class also danced to the Pharrell Williams song ‘Happy,’ but with different lyrics related to saving money,” New said.
Information on the program was also sent home to parents.
McGinnis plans to supplement the program by sharing books with a financial literacy theme during her library classes.
“My partnership with Christina really came about because [we both] believe in the importance of connecting students across grade levels,” McGinnis said. “Not only does it benefit the elementary kids . . . it also [benefits] the older kids by showing them how to be activists and [how to make] a difference in their community by helping those around them become aware of the importance of financial literacy.”
McGinnis and New also share the belief that literacy is about much more than the ability to read.
“It’s about understanding information, no matter what form it may come in,” McGinnis said. “This includes everything from new technologies, news articles, media, literature and even financial awareness. Our library is not the stereotypical space where students come in, [sit quietly], listen to a story and pick out a book. Students are building robots, designing, interacting and collaborating, and yes, even learning how be financially aware, with the ultimate goal of creating new information. They are comparing their ideas with [those of others] and analyzing how their discoveries relate to the past through literature and research.”
The high school finance class is a full-year course that educates students on the basics of personal finance, such as credit, budgeting, purchasing a house and car, retirement, savings and investing. Students receive three free transferable Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) credits for the course.
“It’s just one of the 11 free college credits [that students] can earn from taking business courses at the high school,” New said. “[There are] huge financial savings for parents to take advantage of.”
To learn more about the Dollar Dog Program, visit dollardogkidsclub.com or contact New at [email protected] or McGinnis at [email protected].
