The Bank Within East is the only student-managed and operated bank in Alaska and one of very few in the United States. East students (trained by Wells Fargo employees) act as tellers, supervisors and managers. At the Bank Within East, students and staff members can open accounts, make deposits, withdrawals and loan payments, get change and receive financial advice.
Presently Wells Fargo employees provide 15 hours of training to students in a Career Technology class at East High. Then, after being interviewed by Wells Fargo employees, fifteen students are selected to receive the technical training necessary to work at the Bank Within East. Those students attend an additional 5 to 10 hours of intense training before beginning their semester “job” at the bank. Rather than pay, students receive school credit for their bank work.
The Bank Within East is open before school and during lunch every school day. The class teacher acts as the adult supervisor whenever the bank is in operation. Tellers have their own cash drawers and balance after each shift; a student manager balances the branch each day. The teacher takes paperwork and deposits to a designated Wells Fargo branch each day.
So far approximately 350 students and staff members have opened Wells Fargo accounts at the Bank Within east. Over 30 students who worked at the Bank have received jobs at Anchorage financial institutions. The Bank Within east continues to be a powerful tool to prepare students for the World of Work. The pairing of Wells Fargo and the Bank Within East is often cited as an excellent example of a School Business Partnership – a win win venture benefiting both the school and the business and strengthening the community. |
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History of Partnership |
The Bank Within East, a partnership of East High and Wells Fargo, opened November 1998. Earlier that year, East’s School-to Career Coordinator approached a then National Bank of Alaska (NBA) executive about the possibility of establishing a bank at East High school. NBA management considered the proposal and determined that the idea had potential. A series of planning meetings were held during the spring an summer of 1998. Nancy Gillies, then manager of three NBA branches, agreed to work with East High School. |
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