BP Adams Takes Aim At Financial Literacy By Organizing Classes For Students, Including At Benjamin Banneker Academy

Generations of high school and college graduates have entered the real world without having had any financial literacy education, but current students at the Benjamin Banneker Academy in Clinton Hill (77 Clinton Avenue) won’t have that problem, thanks to a new partnership between Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and several local banks and financial institutions.

Banneker is one of 13 “underserved schools” tapped for the first round of classes, which aims to improve Brooklynites’ financial security through education.

“Debt is a weight that is drowning Brooklynites, and financial education is the lifesaver that leads to more secure futures,” said Adams. “It may not be sexy to talk about FICO scores and savings accounts, but learning basics of money management is essential if we are going to get serious about Brooklyn’s consumer debt crisis.

“We need to change the culture around money in our borough, and our partnership between financial institutions and underserved schools aims to begin that shift in the formative years,” he added. “A child that overspends on video games is an adult that may be unable to balance their checkbook tomorrow. We must build the foundation for healthy financial outcomes throughout Brooklyn.”

Financial groups giving assistance include Santander Bank, Operation HOPE, People’s Alliance Federal Credit Union, and the Financial Literacy for YOU(th) program of Sparks Fly.

Benjamin Banneker Academy hasn’t been paired yet with a group, but will be in the coming months.

Other nearby schools participating includes Bed-Stuy’s Bedford Academy High School and the Brooklyn Academy of Global Finance (both are paired with Santander Bank), Downtown Brooklyn’s Science Skills Center High School for Science, Technology and Creative Arts, and others in Brownsville, Bushwick, and Park Slope.

The new financial literacy class project follows the release of Adams’ office’s analysis of Brooklyn’s “credit crisis,” “Countering Consumer Debt in Brooklyn: Strengthening Communities by Raising Financial Literacy.”

The classes will begin in 2016.