NYC Save for College Program comes to the Bronx
BY JASON COHEN
NYC Kids RISE Save for
College Program, a fi rst-of-itskind
universal program to create
college savings accounts
for every public school kindergartener
in NYC, has now expanded
its reach to the Bronx.
In September 2021, the de
Blasio administration kicked
off the citywide expansion of
the Save for College Program
as part of an economic justice
plan to tackle NYC’s persistent
racial wealth gap. This
school year, every kindergartener
enrolled in a NYC public
school and participating charter
schools — including those
here in the Bronx — will have
access to an NYC Scholarship
Account invested in a 529 college
savings plan, with a $100
seed deposit and up to $200 in
early rewards. The program
is designed to provide families,
schools and communities
with a way to work together to
invest in their children’s futures
— regardless of family
income or immigration status.
The scholarship funds are
invested in the NY 529 Direct
Plan, a type of tax-advantaged
account specifi cally designed
to help people save for higher
education.
The initiative began in the
fall of 2017, when the Save for
College Program launched a
three-year pilot in School District
30 in Queens in partnership
with the NYC Department
of Education. During the 2021-
2022 school year, parents were
educated about the program in
the fall and winter. As a result,
more than 14,000 kindergarteners
across nearly 230 public
elementary schools in the
Bronx will be able to activate
and view their NYC Scholarship
accounts later this spring.
“Every kid will graduate
with a real fi nancial asset and
support from their community,”
said Executive Director
of NYC Kids RISE, Debra-Ellen
Glickstein. “The whole premise
of this effort is just by having
a small dollar amount a
child is more likely to go into
higher education.”
According to a study released
by the Institute for
Higher Education Policy and
Prosperity Now, a child in a
low-income household with
a college savings account between
$1 and $500 is three
times more likely to go to college
and more than four times
more likely to graduate than a
child without one.
BRONX TIMES R 44 REPORTER, MAR. 4-10, 2022 BTR
The program has become
quite popular in District 30 and
the hope is families throughout
the city follow suit, Glickstein
said.
All 39 elementary schools
in the pilot district are incorporating
the Save for College
Program into their activities
with students and families to
enhance college and career
readiness from students’ fi rst
days of kindergarten.
“What we are doing is creating
an opportunity and a message
for every kid,” Glickstein
said. “This is about starting
early and knowing that you
will have something. This is
about the small dollars adding
up over time.”
Based on the success in
Queens, Glickstein knows families
in the other boroughs will
take advantage of this opportunity.
“We’re so proud of the
work that has happened with
Queens and all the parents,
and we are excited to come to
the Bronx and citywide,” she
said.
One person who knows
fi rsthand about the program
Parents/guardians in Queens School District 30 like Nadia Landy, pictured
with her daughter, met regularly with tenant leaders and NYC Kids
RISE to raise money and to support families.
Photo courtesy NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program
is Astoria, Queens resident
Nadia Landy. Landy, a member
of the Astoria Houses Resident
Association, helped create
the Astoria Houses Community
Scholarship, a community
campaign to raise $1,000
for every kindergarten, fi rst-,
second- and third-grader that
lives in Astoria Houses and attends
a pilot school.
“I thought it was amazing
to have because I am a college
graduate who has over $10,000
in student bills,” Landy said.
“If they start now, they have
something to build off. I think
why they started this is for parents
and kids to think of college
as an option.”
James E. MaQuade, Owner
Family Owned & Operated for over 60 years
3535 East Tremont Avenue
Bronx, New York
718-792-0270
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