TALLADEGA — Students in Valerie Harris’ fourth-grade class at R.L. Young Elementary School crowd around a table at the front of a room, turning their pocket linings inside out in a frenzy to hand over the small bills and coins they have collected during the past week.No, they’re not doing anything illicit; these fourth-graders are saving. The woman taking their cash is Kim Sturdivant, of First Educators Credit Union. She has teamed up with Harris to implement FECU’s STAR program, an acronym for “Saving Teaches And Rewards.”
“Are you sure you wanna put it in there?” Sturdivant asks one student. “You don’t have to, now.”
The student eagerly hands over a one-dollar bill, nodding enthusiastically that yes, he is sure. This youngster is already beginning to understand that saving his money is a happy alternative to spending it all, because of the interest it incurs. Or maybe they're just acting on the vague impression that they can make their money work for them.
This is the first week she has taken deposits from the kids, so Sturdivant explains how the savings accounts are going to work for the school year. The credit union has put $5 into each child’s account to begin with, and every week Sturdivant will come to class and collect any money they might wish to deposit into their accounts.
“Every little bit of money you put in there, it draws interest, which means that your money is making money,” she says. “So your money grows when you put it in a savings account.”
Harris has Sturdivant come in during the class’ regular math time, so the children can immediately and practically apply the mathematical concepts they’re learning.
“The accounts earn them 0.75 percent interest,” she says, observing that it would be easier for the kids if their interest earned were an even 1 percent. But this is the beauty of hands-on experience: The children will be more interested in learning to calculate interest now that they have their own savings accounts to practice on.
Regardless, they understand the most basic concept of saving: The more you save the better.
“It’s like a bank back here,” Harris says.
The kids practically climb over one another in their zeal to make their first deposits into their brand-new accounts.
“You can make deposits, withdrawals, all that kind of stuff, just like your mom and dad to at the bank,” Sturdivant explains.
Sixteen fourth-graders signed up for the STAR program this year, approximately double the number who participated last year when it first began at R.L. Young. This is the only school in Talladega County with the STAR program so far, but other branches of FECU have grown the program substantially. Sturdivant says the Jasper branch is particularly successful at getting STAR into its school system. For its second year in Talladega County, STAR seems to be doing well.
The credit union approached Harris last year about implementing the program in her classroom since she is an FECU member. Harris was enthusiastic about trying something different, and they opened the kids’ accounts in the middle of the year. This year, Harris put information about STAR in the parents’ folders before school began, and she said that improved participation dramatically.
The students come from both Harris’ classroom and Cari Wilson’s classroom across the hall. They join the program by having their parents fill out an application and submit a form of identification.
“I think a lot of people are still leery of it because of submitting the ID,” she said. “But it’s safe!”
One of the greatest rewards of STAR, she said, is that at the end of the year the kids will still have accounts with the credit union. They are encouraged to keep them and continue depositing money so they can watch their savings grow.
Arden Horn already has $11 in her account after her first deposit. She says she is saving her money for law school.
Michael McKay says he deposited $2.03, but he could have put in another dollar. After considering this for a moment, he finds Sturdivant and deposits the other dollar.
Sturdivant says she loves the STAR program.
“You know, with them being this age, this is when they’re going to take in stuff that they’re gonna use forever,” she says.
But no need to wait for 'forever' — the financial skills and habits they are learning are already serving these children well.
Simon Trescott, for example, is beginning to save for college now, because “It takes a long time to save money,” he explains.
“Are y’all excited about saving?” Harris asks the class.
A chorus of “YEAH!” nearly knocks her down.
“What are y’all gonna bring next week?” she asks.
“MONEY!” the children respond.
“And then one day you’re gonna be what?”
“RICH!” they shout.
