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Fifteen New York City public schools will offer information about banking services on site next year through a pilot program designed to expand financial literacy and access, city officials announced Wednesday.
The program is part of Mayor Eric Adams’ “financial literacy for youth” initiative, which the mayor revealed in January and is now beginning to take shape.
“If you don’t teach people how to use their money, they will lose their money,” Adams said in a statement. The program will “bring banking services directly to students and give them hands-on experience opening up a safe, affordable bank account, learning about financial products, and starting careers in banking and finance.”
The 15 schools were chosen in part because they are in neighborhoods where families have historically lacked access to banking services. Each campus will also have access to financial educators who provide one-on-one counseling, lead workshops for families, and help teachers devise classroom materials.
Those educators will cover topics that range from money management basics to spotting financial scams and will eventually work in other schools as well. City officials have pledged to expand the program to reach 350,000 students and families by 2030, a project that is projected to cost about $25 million. It will be up to Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to see the effort through.
A City Hall spokesperson indicated that the partnering banks will offer young people safe and affordable products, such as accounts to students over 16 that they can control.
Financial literacy has been a growing push among state and city leaders — with dozens of states requiring a personal finance course to graduate. New York State leaders are also planning to include financial literacy in their revamped graduation standards.
Still, some critics worry that financial literacy programs don’t address root problems with the financial sector and shift the onus away from policymakers to ensure the system is fair and transparent.
Financial institutions are also often big supporters of school-based financial literacy and may stand to gain from marketing their products to students and families. City officials said 12 financial institutions are partnering with schools so far including a mix of major commercial banks and local credit unions.
Here is a list of the first 15 schools that will receive on-campus banking services:
Manhattan District 2: Urban Assembly Early College High School of Emergency Medicine
Manhattan District 3: The Urban Assembly School for Green Careers
Manhattan District 5: Mott Hall High School
Bronx District 7: The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology
Bronx District 8: Longwood Prep
Bronx District 9: Bronx High School for Medical Science
Bronx District 10: Fordham High School for the Arts
Bronx District 11: Bronx Lab School
Bronx District 12: East Bronx Academy for the Future
Brooklyn District 14: High School for Enterprise, Business and Technology
Brooklyn District 19: World Academy for Total Community Health High School
Brooklyn District 21: John Dewey High School
Brooklyn District 23: Brooklyn Collegiate: A College Board School
Queens District 30: Long Island City High School
Staten Island District 31: The Eagle Academy for Young Men of Staten Island
Alex Zimmerman is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex atazimmerman@chalkbeat.org.
