Financial literacy is an increasing part of public education, but Hillside High School in Durham, NC has taken it one large step further and opened a bank right at the school. An official branch of Woodforest National Bank, based in Texas, the bank will be fully operational, allowing students, staff, and families to open accounts and deposit funds to checking and savings accounts. The program also provides internships and serves as a hands-on learning center for students to gain banking skills. The bank has a full professional staff, but many students are employed there as well as part of Hillside’s Business and Finance Academy.
Priscilla Ross heads the Business and Finance Academy.
“Well, hopefully this will generate some more interest in students wanting to learn more about the Finance Academy, especially those students who are going to be accountants are thinking about going into anything finance,” said Ross. “They definitely would want to come to Hillside high School.”
