City officials launched a new “Baby Bonds” program on Wednesday with the goal of placing $100 into the savings accounts of 70,000 kindergarten students.
The new initiative is an expansion of the “NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program” which is the largest city-run program aimed at providing kids with college funds in the country. De Blasio explained the program was created as a means of addressing inequity in which New York City students can access college and to create generational wealth.
“It starts something that grows and grows and becomes a community imperative,” de Blasio said.
.@NYCKidsRISE is going city-wide! Starting this year, ALL @nycschools kindergarten students will automatically receive an NYC Scholarship Account, regardless of family income or immigration status.
We’re at P.S. 196 in Brooklyn with @nycmayor & @DOEChancellor to share the news! pic.twitter.com/LvdcH24FZM
— NYC Kids RISE (@NYCKidsRISE) September 15, 2021
The City piloted the program by setting up accounts for kindergarteners in district 30 in Queens. After the accounts have been created, school communities are responsible for adding more cash through fundraising events.
“These are students who probably never even thought or their parents never even thought of the possibility of having access to a college degree,” said Queens City Councilmember and former public school teacher Daniel Dromm. “This is about funding but it´s also about community unity.”
In honor of the program´s launch, Mayor de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Porter spoke visited kindergarten students at The Williamsburg Bridge Magnet School in Brooklyn Wednesday morning.
“I grew up in South Jamaica, you know, didn’t have all of the resources, but this moment investing in the future college experiences of these little babies is our priority,” Porter told students and staff during the visit. “If we want to change outcomes in our community, it has to start by investing in our most precious, precious commodity, and that is our children.”
