Thanks to Arizona Central Credit Union, local teachers now havean award-winning tool to teach students how to manage money.

The $404 million state-chartered cooperative based in Phoenixrecently introduced Banzai, a financial literacy program, to middleand high schools in Maricopa, Pima and Coconino counties.

Banzai,which is currently being used in more than 10,000 schools in 50states, is an interactive, online program that aligns with statecurriculum requirements for personal finance education and includesprinted workbooks, the credit union said.

The program, which earned the Institute for Financial Literacy'sCurriculum of the Year Award in 2010, is provided at no charge toteachers as part of Arizona Central's educational efforts, the credit union said.

“More than ever, it's important that kids develop soundfinancial skills to prepare them for the real world, and ArizonaCentral realizes that and they're doing something about it,” saidMorgan Vandagriff, co-founder of Banzai.

The program uses real-life scenarios to enable students to learnhow to pay bills, balance a budget and manage unexpected expensessuch as parking tickets, interest charges and overdraft fees, thecompany said.

Banzai also introduces students to auto loans, savings accounts,account statements and other banking concepts, the companysaid.

“Too often students get out of school and they just aren't readyfor the financial roller coasters life can give us,” Vandagriffsaid. “Banzai teaches students to navigate those twists and turnsand come out on top.”