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Carver City/Lincoln Gardens: At school, students take it to the bank

Students in the Academy of Finance operate a credit union branch, complete with ATM, at Jefferson High School.

Forgot your lunch money?

That's no longer a problem for many students at Jefferson High School. Earlier this month, the Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union plunked down an ATM machine next to the soda machines in the lunchroom mall. It's specially designed to dispense $1 and $5 bills.

Besides convenience, the ATM machine offers students a good learning tool for managing money, said Caryl Menendez, assistant principal for Jefferson's magnet program of international studies.

After working out the bugs, bank officials got the machine up and running April 8. Michael Hunter, 17, checked his balance during lunch.

Hunter is in the Academy of Finance, one of Jefferson's magnet programs. Last year the school set up a small branch office of the Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union between two classrooms. To get the ATM, academy students had to open 100 accounts.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, students open accounts and take deposits at the branch, run by juniors and seniors in the academy. A Suncoast representative assists the students and takes the money to the main branch on Hillsborough Avenue.

To open an account, students need a parent to co-sign, must deposit at least $5 and pay $5 to be part of the credit union. Students with accounts at other banks also can use the ATM but must pay a fee.

The Academy of Finance, which started eight years ago, is Jefferson's oldest academy and was the first in Hillsborough County. Others are at Brandon, which also has an ATM, Armwood and Chamberlain high schools. All are part of the National Academy Foundation in New York City.

Jefferson's academy began as an attractor program and eventually was folded into one of the school's eight magnet academies, which include International Business, Marketing and Hotel Operations.

About half the student body are magnet students, including 70 in the Academy of Finance. They can enter as freshmen, learning about spreadsheets and ledgers.

Terry Rodriguez left the business world last year to be the academy's teacher. A glass pot full of shredded money sits on her desk.

"From the Federal Reserve in Jacksonville," she said. "(Students) want to know if they can have some, if they can tape it back together."

Before their senior year, students in the academy do internships at local businesses that pay $7.50 to $10 an hour.

Frances Gonzalez, 17, worked at Smith Barney on Tampa Street. After the summer, the internship turned into a part-time job.

This semester, the academy's junior level class is operating the school's bank. Many of the 12 students aspire to work in the banking industry.

Junior Josh Reyes said he wants to make enough money to support his expensive tastes. Classmate Tatiana Ocampo wants a job in which she can help her family, which moved to the United States from Colombia five years ago.

In the past year, academy students have opened 122 accounts.

Earlier this month, Karen Karppe, an internal auditor for Suncoast, gathered two new accounts and six deposits the students had processed.

"That's pretty good for a day," she said.

For information about the academy, call Caryl Menendez at 872-5241 ext. 228.

- Elisabeth Dyer can be reached at 226-3321 or edyer@sptimes.com