HarborOne Credit Union has been operating a branch at Brockton High School for more than 20 years.

With the start of the school season, dozens of bank and credit union branches that had taken the summer off have reopened their doors. Inside several area high schools are student-run branches. Many of them are operated by students who get to play teller for class credit or just test out a career in banking. Even for students not directly involved in a student banking program, having a branch located on the way to math class or the lunch room helps make banking convenient and easy, and teaches basic savings and money management techniques.

According to Cindy Lyons, president of the Massachusetts School Bank Association, there are about 40 high school bank and credit union braches located in high schools throughout the state. Lyons said acknowledging the benefits to the students and the community must be a substantial part of making the commitment to open and operate a high school branch. High school branches, she said, are not known for making money. In fact it is more likely to quite the opposite, at least going strictly by the ledger.

“It’s a big commitment for the bank. It costs money for me to be here right now,” said Lyons, who is also the supervisor of the First Educational Branch of The Saving Bank, located inside Wakefield High School.

Lyons said The Saving Bank is believed to have been the first bank in the country to open a high school branch. The idea came from Donald Garrant, the bank’s president at the time, and the branch opened inside the Wakefield school 25 years ago. Despite the costs, Lyons said she is not surprised other financial institutions banks have taken to the idea.

“Financial literacy is extremely important to this bank. It always has been,” said Lyons. “We just try to educate and spread the word.”

While Lyons wishes there were more high school branches, perhaps one in every school, she said she also understands why there are not.

“You can understand why there aren’t more of them. It’s a lot of work. Everybody has to look at their bottom line,” she said.

However, she does know of a few more high schools that are in the process of welcoming banks.

Paul Gilbody, senior vice president of Worcester-based Bay State Saving Bank, said he has seen school banks come and go. His bank is among those that have made a long-term commitment to running a school bank program, now in its 16th year at the Auburn High School.

“The commitment to school branches tends to be a fad in some cases,” he said. “We really invest a lot into the school program. We see great value in the intangibles.”

The program is open to all grades and the idea is that students learn work skills, how to handle money and earn credits. He agrees that the bottom-line evaluation of whether to operate a school branch can’t simply be about money, or most would never open. Community involvement and financial education outreach are the chief benefits to the bank, he said.

“From a financial standpoint, I would say we spend more than we earn, but when all is said and done it sends the right message,” said Gilbody.

Strong Bonds
However, there are some long-term financial benefits to banks that operate school branches. Bankers say that students usually stay with the bank after graduating, as long as they stay in the area. It’s a way to generate new customers early on.

In some cases, the relationship can be established very early on, indeed. Bay State Savings Bank also makes trips to local elementary schools to encourage kids to save by opening their first bank account, collecting deposits as part of a classroom activity.

“I would say almost all of the students who start an account with us stay with us,” said Gilbody.

Lyons said that these sorts of deposits don’t pay off now. However, in future years when the time comes for a mortgage or other types of adult transactions, the kids will likely remember their early interactions with the bank

“I think clearly it is an opportunity to present yourself well,” said Leo MacNeil, senior vice president of marketing at Brockton-based HarborOne Credit Union.

HarborOne also was among the first area institutions to open a school branch and has stuck with it for more than 20 years. He said running a branch at Brockton High School has really given the credit union more name recognition and helped to establish a solid reputation.

“It reinforces advertising in public relations. All of those things add up to strong relationships and bonds in the community,” said MacNeil, adding, “Ultimately, our motives are altruistic.”

HarborOne also has seen its program pay off in terms of recruiting new employees, something that seems to be a natural extension of high school bank programs.

Tracy Dixon, a sales representative at HarborOne, graduated from Brockton High School in 1988. She took the school banking course for extra credit, working as a teller in the in-school branch.

Dixon said she did not have a bank account until she got to high school, but having a financial institution right in the school made it easy. She said she remembers several of her classmates also opting to open accounts because of the convenience and encouragement of school faculty.

Dixon said she had wanted to learn more about managing money before she went off into the real world, but a career in financial services had not been on her agenda.

“I just took to it, she said.

Dixon has now been a staff member at HarborOne for 18 years and has had the opportunity to try out several positions and work her way up in the company. She said the training is really great. She also is thankful the introduction she received to her industry came at such an early age.

“I see myself here another 18 years with the credit union,” said Dixon.

“We certainly teach them how to be a teller, but other real-life skills as well,” said Carole Martyn, training and development officer in charge of HarborOne’s high school branch. Martyn said marketing, resume writing and interview practice also play into the curriculum.

When school branch first opened it was coupled with a financial literacy course. However, the opportunity is now viewed as an advanced-level elective course, said Martyn, who notes the interest among students has definitely grown over time. She also said the credit union currently employs several former students, making up 5 percent of HarborOne’s workforce.