Teens learn to save for a better future

Before June, 17-year-old Peter Phillips never had a savings account and didn't know much about money except that when he had some, he spent it.

Then he agreed to participate in an experimental youth education savings program.

Now, the money he earns as a crew trainer at a local McDonald's helps pay for his education at Pikes Peak Academy, an alternative Christian high school for students at risk of dropping out. And some goes into a savings account he's accumulating for college.

Phillips' deposits are matched 2-to-1 by the Pikes Peak Community Action Agency's YE$ program.

As a program participant, he's also learning how to manage personal finances and set and reach financial goals.

"It's helped me a whole lot," Phillips said. "I never thought about the future before. I've learned it's really important to set goals because that helps you get farther along the road to success."

Six of Pikes Peak Academy's 50 students are the first participants in the pilot program, the first of its kind in El Paso County and the second in the state.

The concept is drawing enough interest to expand it and find additional funding, said James Faber, chief executive officer of Pikes Peak Community Action Agency, a nonprofit that helps families become self-sufficient.

"This is not a scholarship program; it's about responsibility, accountability, character development and goal-setting," Faber said.

Here's how the YE$ program works. High school students who are at least 16 and identified by school counselors as "at risk" - those struggling with graduating because of personal or socioeconomic reasons - are invited to participate.

Teens must attend a financial literacy class designed by Ent Federal Credit Union. And they must contribute at least $5 a month and up to $100 a month to a personal savings account at Ent. Students can get the money from employment, allowance or jobs such as raking yards; the program does not help them find jobs.

Faber's agency monitors the savings accounts and deposits the match money with donations it receives from grants and individuals.

For students at Pikes Peak Academy, the money helps pay for tuition, which averages about $200 a month, Faber said.

After three months in the program and reaching their savings goals, students can use some of the money to buy school supplies such as laptop computers, art materials and musical instruments.

YE$ students are saving an average of about $50 a month, Faber said.

"If you miss a deposit, they contact you and ask what's going on," Phillips said. "I definitely wouldn't be able to go to this school without this program."

Students enrolled in high school, college, a trade school or vocational training can stay in YE$ until they turn 21 or reach a maximum of $2,000 in deposits, which is matched with an additional $4,000 from Pikes Peak Community Action Agency.

Faber said two students from Fountain School District No. 8 will join the program soon, with a goal of 16 students enrolled this year and 25 the next. His long-term vision: to have every school in the Pikes Peak region involved.

To add more students, the agency is requesting $27,000 from Pikes Peak United Way and is trying to raise funds to match a $20,000 grant from the Community Leadership Fund of the Pikes Peak Community Foundation.

"This program offers exactly what we've been trying to do to help our kids toward independence in life. It also teaches them patience, responsibility and a work ethic," said Mark Becker, who founded Pikes Peak Academy in 1993 and is executive director.

YE$ also has helped students "start to dream," Becker said.

Sixteen-year-old Kary Ylvisaker wants to attend college, study business and open an orphanage in India.

A YE$ participant and student at Pikes Peak Academy for three years, Ylvisaker recently got a job at a property management company and is working on her dream.