Leesburg Students Participate In Lake City Bank ‘Reality Store’
Posted
Staff Report-
LEESBURG – Recently, Leesburg Elementary was a hive of grown-up activity when Lake City Bank’s Reality Store paid a visit to the sixth-grade classes.
The Leesburg Reality Store was organized by Karla Kroll, commercial loan operations officer; and Tiffany Peterson, commercial loan servicing specialist; and staffed by employees from operations and other areas.
“Lake City Bank has hosted Reality Stores since about 2010, and our operations group wanted to reach out to the community by hosting one,” Kroll said. “They are a real-life activity designed to help students learn about the economics of life.”
Students are given a personal situation, such as being married with two children, holding a job as a nurse or having an income of $50,000, and they have to select living choices and the expenditures that go along with them at different stations staffed by Lake City Bank volunteers, according to a news release from Warsaw Community Schools. For example, students are asked to choose renting or buying a home and for how much they are willing to spend; what kind of car they will drive if they can afford one; what they will spend on utilities; and even what will happen if they’re struck by a twist of fate, like a house fire or other calamity.
“It’s really fun to work with students and see them realize how much it costs to run a household,” Peterson said. “They figure out quickly that they might want to get more education, or that buying a brand-new car might not be the best choice.”
Schools appreciate Reality Stores, too.
“Learning about the economics of life hands-on is quite valuable for our students,” said Nathan Polston, principal of Leesburg Elementary. “And the fact that the bank makes it a turnkey event for us is even better.”
