Tucked under the stairs at Mount Tahoma High School is a fully functioning credit union. The Gesa Credit Union branch which celebrated its grand opening on Tuesday, is part of a new partnership with Tacoma Public Schools. 

The partnership between TPS and Gesa has two components: the physical credit union branch at Mount Tahoma staffed by students, and an affinity debit card program open to all students, staff, parents, and the community. 

Bringing banking to students

The Mount Tahoma credit union branch is part of Gesa’s High School Credit Union Program which works with schools across Washington. The program aims to give students access to banking and provide job opportunities for students to work in the branch.

“We firmly believe that students learn by doing, and we want to set them up for success,” said Brandon Allison, AVP of Training, Education and Community Relations at Gesa Credit Union. “The school branch provides students with a realistic experience. But the accounts we offer have some training wheels. There are no overdraft fees and no check writing.”

The Mount Tahoma branch will be open during lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays the remainder of the school year to serve Mount Tahoma students and staff, and it is not open to the public. The branch supervisor is Kelsey White, Gesa Education Specialist. Through the Jobs 253 program eight Mount Tahoma students will be working alongside White through the end of the school year as tellers. Next school year Gesa intends to hire two students who will work in the branch the entire school year, supervising student tellers who will be enrolled in CTE Business & Entrepreneurship pathway classes.

Before beginning work, student tellers participate in training with Gesa, learning about banking rules and practices and Gesa systems. Student tellers have limited access within Gesa’s system, safeguarding member safety and privacy.

Sophomore Melody Ciccia is excited to work in the credit union. “I want to own my own business someday, so learning about banking is important to me. I think this is going to be a really good experience.”

In Washington state, kids over the age of 14 can open bank accounts without parental permission. However, for TPS and Gesa, parental involvement is an important component. The Mount Tahoma branch has materials for students to take home and discuss with their families. Additionally, Gesa has provided materials at Foss, Lincoln, Silas and Stadium High Schools.

High School branded debit cards 

The Gesa Affinity Debit Card Program allows TPS to offer district and school-branded debit cards. When Gesa account holders use an Affinity Debit Card linked to our district for their everyday purchases, each card swipe delivers a donation to our schools at no cost to the card user.

“Our partnership with Gesa Credit Union to introduce the student Affinity Card is a big step forward in teaching our students how to handle money wisely, which is part of our commitment to preparing them for life en route to and beyond the diploma,” said Adam Kulaas, Director of Innovative Learning & CTE at Tacoma Public Schools. “This effort, especially in alignment to our Jobs 253 programming, helps students learn by doing — managing their own money and understanding how to be financially responsible and independent.”

TPS is starting with branded cards for our five comprehensive high schools and a TPS card. Depending on response and demand, additional card designs may be added.

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