Vicki Kalman, Cardinal Bank coordinator, says one reason was simply to stimulate students and their families to use banking services. Most of the students at South Division are Latino, and many are immigrants who have never had bank accounts before. "The idea is to get people to go to a bank," Kalman says.

It's working. The bank has more than 600 accounts totalling about $420,000 in deposits. Students can open accounts with only $5, while adults need $50 and a valid form of ID.

Another, arguably more important, function of the bank is to give students valuable job experience. The eight seniors who now work at the bank get paid only school credits - not cash.

More than 90 percent of all the students who have worked at the bank since it opened have gone on to college, compared to only 62 percent of all South Division High students, says Jackie Martinez, Assistant to the Vice President of marketing and community development for Mitchell Bank.

"It helps you stand out," says Beatriz Geckler, 20, a former Cardinal Bank teller who graduated from South Division two years ago and now works as a teller for Mitchell Bank. "The bank helps to change the image people may have of South [Division]."

To see the student tellers in action, visit the bank Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

CARDINAL BANK BY THE NUMBERS

90

Percentage of Cardinal Bank student employees who go on to college

$5

Minimum needed to open a student savings account

400

Number of current Cardinal Bank accounts