Sleepy Hollow fi fth-grader Hayden Brillhart remembers the
exact day he knew he wanted to be a banker… A Happy State Bank
Kids’ Bank Banker, that is. “It was the fi rst Thursday of the second
six weeks of third grade,” grins Hayden.
Hayden’s enthusiasm for the Happy State Bank Kids’ Bank
program is shared by many at his school. “All this week, we were
counting down the days until Kids’ Bank,” he says. “On Monday we
looked at the calendar and said, ‘Three days. C’mon, Thursday!’”
Fifth-graders like Hayden can apply to become the school’s
“bankers.” They even visit the downtown branch of Happy State
Bank for a tour and interview. Student bankers are trained in how
to handle money, fi ll out a deposit slip and be a vault when it
comes to their clients’ privacy.
With the student bankers in place, adult bankers from Happy
State set up shop in Sleepy Hollow every Thursday in a makeshift
bank façade. One by one, students from each grade patiently wait
in line to make their deposits. “It is a true savings account,” says
Happy State Bank Assistant Vice President Christy Heuston.
Students receive monthly bank statements and take the
responsibility of depositing and saving money very seriously, says
Christy. “For some of them, it’s so important that if they forget
their money, they may dig in their backpack and bring us fi ve
cents to deposit. We tell them that’s still saving money. It counts.”
Happy State runs Kids’ Bank at more than a dozen AISD schools.
Some of them have been in business long enough to have students
who’ve converted their kindergarten savings account into a college
checking account.
Hayden can see that in his own future. “I think it’s awesome
because middle school is right around the corner and it’s time to
start being more independent,” he says. “All these little opportunities
we have are leading to success.”
If Willy Wonka’s candy factory were instead an art studio, it would
probably look just like the art room at Carver Elementary Academy.
“They come here and feel like they’re in another world,” says art
teacher Julie Baker. “When I fi rst got here, it was just blue walls.”
Now the room is a literal rainbow of colors, textures and creativity.
Every Carver student comes here once a week to let loose and
express themselves. “We hardly ever use crayons,” explains Julie.
“By the time they leave here, they’ve touched every art medium
there is.”
A classroom collaborative in clay provided an array of glazed
bowls and platters for the school’s art auction. Students in each class
crafted individual elements that were put together to create a single
piece of pottery representing the entire classroom.
“We made strips of clay and rolled them up into little balls and then
stuck them together and built it up to the height we wanted,” explains
fi fth-grader Avery Roden of the pencil holder his class made.
Fifth-grader Samuel Burrell is especially proud of the tray created
in his class. “I like that it has lots of texture,” he says.
“I really like that it’s a part of everybody,” adds fi fth-grader Journey
Wilson.
But most of all, they just like art. “There are really no rules for
what you can do,” fi fth-grader Alia Hernandez sums it up. “I really
love art.”
Banking On Their Futures: Kid’s Bank at Sleepy Hollow
Beyond the Crayons: Art at Carver Elementary Academy
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