Eagle Bank Brings Junior Achievement Program to Everett Schools

Everett High students Alex Arruda and Ezequiel Mancio work on an exercise in financial literacy class as Adriana Indrisano of Eagle Bank looks on.

As part of Eagle Bank’s ongoing commitment to educate Everett students on financial literacy, staff from the bank are teaching a personal finance curriculum developed by Junior Achievement®.

Adriana Indrisano, Financial Literacy Coordinator, and Christine Falzarano, Vice President, Community Development and Retirement Services, are teaching the course to approximately 60 Everett High students in three sections of teacher David Babineau’s High School Finance classes. Indrisano and Falzarano are visiting once per quarter to work with students on different sections of the JA Personal Finance curriculum.

“This correlates well to what we are doing in class,” Babineau said on a recent day when investing was the unit being studied. “I’ve introduced them to the topic, but this is more detailed instruction.”

The JA course material is very interactive, geared to getting students to take an active role in the discussion. They work in small groups of no more than five, so everyone has the opportunity to participate.

Topics that are being covered include: creating a budget, saving vs. investing, credit and debt, and identity theft.

“The JA curriculum introduces students to the importance of making smart financial decisions,” Indrisano said. “We want to get them thinking about the significant role finances play in achieving their lifelong goals.”

JA Personal Finance is one of several financial literacy programs Eagle Bank is implementing in Everett Public Schools this year. Others include: Teach Children to Save, an initiative in which elementary school students are learning the value of saving and money-management skills, and Get Smart About Credit, a campaign designed to help young people develop responsible credit habits.

Founded in Springfield in 1919, Junior Achievement’s mission is to educate and inspire youth to value free enterprise, business and economics in order to improve the quality of their lives. JA is a worldwide organization serving more than seven million students in more than 100 countries.

Eagle Bank, Everett’s first community bank founded in 1889, offers a wide range of retail consumer banking services, as well as a complete portfolio of commercial retail and lending products and services.  As a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF), depositors’ funds are fully insured.  For more information call 800-BANK-EAGLE or visit www.bankeagle.com.

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