Pulse BEAT
DOLLARS AND SENSE Lisa Davey is making money matter to kids
BY ALISON BAILIN BATZ / PHOTO BY CLAUDIA JOHNSTONE
It’s graduation season! But, there is still one lesson Lisa Davey is set on teaching kids before next school year or college – financial literacy. “Talking to kids about money is about as comfortable as talking to them about the birds and bees,” Davey says. “But, without basic lessons in school and at home about finances, we are putting them out there in the world at a great disadvantage.” As such, when she was promoted in 2017 to vice president at Washington Federal Arizona, Davey took on the bank’s statewide financial literacy initiatives, both for younger children and high school kids. “For kids as young as kindergarten and then up through eighth grade, we have a program free to every elementary and middle school across Arizona called Save at School,” she explains. “Through it, we come in and actually take over their classes on regular ‘bank days’ to teach them basics about money and savings.” The twice-monthly program helps children understand where money actually comes from – aka, it does not grow on trees – as well as how to make a budget. Her team even works with kids (with parents’ permission, of course) to start their first savings accounts, matching their first $5. “Then, once they hit high school, we take a deeper dive with our formal Washington Federal Financial Scholars program, an online curriculum available at no cost to parents or schools using simulations, avatars and gaming to bring complex financial concepts to life,” Davey says. This program tackles everything from credit cards and student loans to 401(k)s and taxes. “We track the progress of every student and provide those who complete the course with a Certification in Financial Literacy diploma, which can be use on college applications and resumes,” Davey explains. The program – which launched in the greater-Uptown area in 2013 and is currently at eight schools across Arizona – has graduated more than 1,500 students. Davey hopes to double this number and expand to at least a dozen more schools in the near future.
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Uptown May '18