Education advocates have worked to ensure K-12 curriculums are more in line with real-world expectations for years. One of the most pointed topics for curriculum redesign has been the inclusion of classes related to financial literacy. In 2022, the National Endowment for Financial Education released a report highlighting the nationwide efforts to make this advocacy work a reality for students. And for some who attend a historically Black school in North Carolina, that reality has been leveled up. Hands-on instruction has taken on a new meaning for the students of Hillside High School as it has opened a bank on its campus in Durham.