Bank teams with school to teach financial literacy
Candace Jarrett/Morning News
Published: April 29, 2008
POST YOUR COMMENTPublished: April 29, 2008
FLORENCE — Fourth-grade students packed into the cafeteria at Delmae Heights Elementary School on Tuesday morning to compete at their own version of the television game “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”
First Reliance Bank sponsored the event, “Are You Smarter Than a 4th Grader?” During the first round, 12 students — two from each fourth-grade classroom — were quizzed on financial literacy terms and concepts from categories including U.S. currency, investing, income and peer pressure.
After getting enough $10 questions correct, the student team consisting of Donovan Brown, Jayda Evans, Katie Florio, Allison Grimes, Jammie Haynh, Jordan Jeffers, David Lu, Quannadon Moses, Lareign Murphy, Sarah Payne, Kendra Peterson, Kassie Phillips and Zachary Varner, was able to compete for the $100 bonus question. The team won it, with the crowd of fellow fourth-graders cheering them on.
In the second round, First Reliance employees had to test their knowledge to see if they were indeed smarter than the fourth-graders at Delmae. That team consisted of loan assistant Regina Hucks, mortgage vice president Marnie Moore, personal banker Ricky Reynolds, business banker Mandy Todd, personal banker Brad Turner and Florence branch service manager Martha Wooten.
The bankers were quizzed on the fourth-grade curriculum.
Hucks learned quickly that it stung to recite a certain phrase when answering a question wrong.
“Oh this hurts,” she said. “I am not smarter than a fourth-grader.”
Wooten, whose daughter attends school in Florence School District 1, had the final question of the final round. She answered correctly after missing an earlier question.
“It hurt to get the first answer of the game wrong,” she said. “I had to make sure I went out with a bang because I know that all of (the First Reliance employees) will never let me live that down.”
The guest announcer, superintendent Larry Jackson, teased her.
“If you get this answer wrong, Martha, you’re going to have to stay after school,” he said. “No pressure, though.”
The collaborative effort between bankers and students left the fourth-grade classes with $340 to be used for end-of-the-year events in honor of the fourth grade, principal Roy Ann Jolley said.
Holly Paolucci, wife of First Reliance Bank Chief Financial Officer Jeff Paolucci and president of Delmae’s Association of Parents and Teachers, spearheaded the event. She said it was a new way to celebrate national “Teach Children to Save Day.”
“My son, Dean, is the reason this came about,” she said. “He walks around all day with that book (“Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”) quizzing me and reminding me of how long it’s been and that I might not be.”
Paolucci said the goal is to funnel the financial literacy program via First Reliance to other markets throughout the state. She said Delmae’s is the pilot program.
“It is important to teach students about saving as early as possible,” she said. “When they are too far gone in the school system, it can be hard to teach them about their finances.”
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