CUTX SMART Branch offers first-hand banking experience for Allen ISD students

Located within Allen High School is a Credit Union of Texas bank branch called the CUTX SMART Branch.

The branch, a first-of-its-kind for CUTX, is staffed with high school students overseen by a full-time CUTX employee. CUTX President and CEO Eric Pointer said students, staff and faculty can open checking accounts, apply for loans and make deposits like any other bank branch.

“What makes it special is that many of those services are delivered by students, for students and faculty, under the guidance and support of our team,” he said in an email.

The full story

SMART stands for Servant leadership, Motivation, Active learning, Reasoning and Technology, according to CUTX’s website. Students can apply for available positions and intern as bank managers, tellers, financial literacy coaches and marketers. Each student employee receives training in banking, marketing and financial literacy.

The branch’s “most unique service” may be the financial literacy education offered to students, Pointer said.

Student interns can earn academic credits by building and leading financial literacy workshops for other students. It creates a “powerful student-to-student” learning environment in the process, Pointer said.

“There is something very meaningful about students learning from one another,” he said. “It makes financial education more relatable, more approachable, and more likely to stick.”

Students can also apply as an aide intern who works at the bank without the associated classwork in building financial presentations.

Toni Crisler, director of Allen ISD’s College, Career and Military Readiness, said it was a “very intriguing program” for students because those under 18 years old cannot typically work within a bank.

“This internship experience gives them a rare opportunity, if they are interested in going into the finance industry,” Crisler said. “It gives them the opportunity to see what it looks like behind the counter at managing money, how to open accounts, deposit checks, [and withdraw cash].”

The background

SMART Branch opened with a “small start” in the spring 2021 semester before the full rollout came later that year, said Crisler. The branch was opened in partnership with CUTX to address financial literacy gaps among students, according to officials.

“The SMART branch became possible because we had innovative partners in education who were open to trying something different,” Pointer said. “Something that gives students real-world experience while also helping them build financial confidence early in life.”

It was a “culmination” of discussions with CUTX about keeping kids engaged with financial literacy, Crisler said. Through the district’s partnership with CUTX, the bank also offers student scholarships to branch interns and a “pay for grades” program that pays qualifying students semi-annually for As and Bs.

Allen High School teacher Mia Sherman teaches the students who build financial presentations during their internship with the branch. She just finished her first full year with the program.

“It’s incredible to watch students grow over the time that they’re with us for that one year,” Sherman said.