ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Thurston Elementary School has teamed up with MidWest Financial Credit Union to open a student-run credit union branch. Participation in the program, which is free to the school, is strictly voluntary and run by tellers, bookkeepers and service representatives from the fifth grade. "Student-run credit union branches exist and thrive in schools across the United States," said MidWest Financial CU SVP Business Development Eric Pless. "It is a natural extension of the credit union philosophy of people helping people. And we are pleased to be partnering with Thurston in this educational effort." The Thurston Elementary program marks MidWest Financial's third student-run school branch. Fortis Academy in Ypsilanti and Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary in Ann Arbor teamed up with the credit union for a student-run school branch earlier this year.