Redstone Federal Credit Union opens first-of-its-kind branch in Huntsville

A new credit union has opened inside a Huntsville high school as part of a workforce development program designed to get students ready for the real world.

Several Huntsville government leaders, school officials and Redstone Credit Union representatives came together recently at Mae Jemison High School to mark the opening of the student-run credit union branch

It’s the first Huntsville City School to have a student-run Redstone Federal Credit Union branch and the 10th in North Alabama and Central Tennessee. Other student-run branches include Bob Jones High School and James Clemons High School in Madison City Schools and Austin High School and Decatur High School in Decatur City Schools.

The program started in 2017.

 

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Huntsville City Councilmember Michelle Watkins has championed this project since 2019, when she was a member of the Huntsville City School Board.

Business education teacher Latoya Bell leads nine high-achieving students to run the Mae Jemison on-campus bank. They will work during the financial literacy class, which is three times a week.

Bell is excited to prepare her students for independent living.

“This will actually just put them ahead of their peers, just being educated on those things before they go into the real world,” Bell said. “Because I always tell them about going to college, they come in with credit cards, you can get one here and there with no job. This is important.”

Mae Jemison students, parents, visitors, staff and faculty can make small transactions at the school’s location. Redstone Federal Credit Union Executive Nathan Lombard said there are guardrails to ensure proper management of funds and banking records are checked weekly

Lombard said the program teaches important lessons beyond just handling money.

“When the students become part of a program, most of the time they come in with very little confidence. They won’t look in the eye when they speak,” Lombard said. “We’re giving them an opportunity to see what it’s like to be in a professional environment. We’re teaching them how to work in a financial institution behind the scenes. But at the same time, they’re getting soft skills. They’re learning about security, about how to maintain confidentiality, which is very important to us.”