The Family School and Sheridan Academy for Young Leaders community join schools across the city celebrating NYC Scholarship Month by supporting families to activate their children’s free NYC Scholarship Accounts with money set aside for college and career training

Students from Sheridan Academy for Young Leaders perform a rendition of “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile” from the musical Annie, retitled “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without Kids RISE” at the Campus 90 NYC Scholarship Month celebration Photo by Bridget Ye for NYC Kids RISE (January 29, 2026). Download photos here.

February 3, 2026

Bronx, NY – On Thursday, January 29th in Concourse, Bronx in celebration of NYC Scholarship Month, Campus 90 schools, The Family School and Sheridan Academy for Younger Leaders, and Community School District 9 leaders welcomed kindergarten students and families to the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program. NYC Scholarship Month is the first opportunity new families have to activate their children’s free NYC Scholarship Accounts and view the money set aside for their future college and career training. The event featured a workshop to support families with activating the accounts, and learning about additional steps to unlock even more rewards for their children’s college and career futures.

Sheridan Academy for Young Leaders Principal Lisette Febus and The Family School Principal Roshelle Rowe, who kicked off the workshop, were joined by Community School District 9 Superintendent Harry Sherman, NYC Kids RISE Founding Executive Director Debra-Ellen Glickstein, and the Office of the Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson to celebrate with families how students at The Family School and Sheridan Academy for Young Leaders, elementary schools co-located at Campus 90, are among the more than 340,000 public school students citywide who have than $57 million now accumulated across their NYC Scholarship Accounts, invested in a NY 529 Direct Plan for their future college and career training. In the Bronx, more than 70,000 students have over $10 million invested.

Citywide, approximately 70,000 new students received NYC Scholarship Accounts in January. That includes around 60,000 kindergartners whose parents/guardians can now activate and view the accounts at nyckidsrise.org/activate.

“As we welcome more than 70,000 new students and their families to the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program this year, we are proud that over 340,000 NYC public school scholars now have NYC Scholarship Accounts across the city,” said NYC Public Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels. “College affordability is key, and early access to a financial asset for college and career training reinforces our message to every student: we believe in you and support your aspirations. I encourage parents and guardians to activate and view their children’s accounts. It’s a meaningful first step in our work together, preparing all our kids for success in college and career training, and in rewarding careers.”

“This NYC Scholarship Month, as schools welcome the kindergarten class to the Program, we celebrate what we’ve achieved for our children already, and what more we can accomplish together,” said Debra-Ellen Glickstein, Founding Executive Director of NYC Kids RISE. “Through the work of so many partners across government, philanthropy, the private sector and communities, now what it means to start public school in New York City is that you will have a financial asset for your educational futures. We are showing what’s possible when we come together to collectively support our children’s futures.”

“The NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program demonstrates the power of early collective investment in children, communities and New York City,” said Dana Zucker, NYC Kids RISE Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Gray Foundation. “Amassing more than $57 million for our children’s college and career goals reflects the power of public-private-partnerships and collaboration. We welcome the new Kindergarten class to the Program, and work towards a future where all our kids are set up for success.”

“This NYC Scholarship Month, we are excited to join NYC Kids RISE and our public schools to welcome more than 70,000 new students to the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program. We celebrate that NYC families have access to essential resources and support for our children’s college and career futures,” said New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin. “I was proud to help launch NYC Kids RISE so every child, regardless of zip code, has access to educational and economic opportunity. I look forward to the City Council continuing to support this critical program as we work to make New York City more affordable.”

“We share the vision of our Bronx families and schools — that all kids will grow up with access to resources and support to pursue any college and career dream they choose,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson. “That’s why the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program is such a game-changer; it’s a powerful tool for building a future filled with possibilities for all our children. I encourage Bronx families to activate their children’s NYC Scholarship Accounts and take pride in the investment our city is making in their success.”

The Campus 90 NYC Scholarship Month celebration is an example of the ways schools across the Bronx are incorporating the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program as a tool for college and career readiness, family engagement, and school-to-community connections. Across the five boroughs, elementary schools like The Family School and Sheridan Academy for Young Leaders are hosting events, workshops, and family outreach activities so that families know their children already have a resource for their educational futures. Each student’s account starts with an initial $100 seed investment and there are opportunities to earn more over time, building on this financial asset for higher education expenses and encouraging students to dream big about the future.

There are additional opportunities for families to receive more money over time through Community Scholarships, which send a message to students that their community believes in their potential and is investing in their success.

“The NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program is a vehicle for our schools to connect with families and communities and work together on college and career readiness,” said Jane Martinez Dowling, Chief of NYC Public Schools Office of Student Pathways. “And when children and families find out they have money for the future, it changes their ideas about what’s possible. NYC Scholarship Month is an important first opportunity for new families to activate their accounts and take part in this citywide commitment to educational opportunity for all our students.”

“We know that our kids need doors opened for them and we know that when they have a college savings account, they’re much more likely to step through those doors to participate in postsecondary education,” said Community School District 9 Superintendent Harry Sherman. “In District 9, we believe that every child should belong, excel, and thrive in their schools and communities. The NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program is a tremendous partner in making that possible and setting students on a college trajectory.”

At The Family School, 303 students have NYC Scholarship Accounts with nearly $42,000 already invested for their college and career futures.

“Here at The Family School we are truly a family. Sharing opportunities like the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program, where it takes all of us coming together as a community with parents, our students, and families, allows us all to be part of building our village for all our students,” said The Family School Principal Roshelle Rowe. “In addition to today’s celebration, parents at our school have had the opportunity to engage with and learn about their children’s NYC Scholarship Accounts through workshops, parent association meetings, and on Class Dojo.”

At the Sheridan Academy for Young Leaders, 237 students have NYC Scholarship Accounts with over $33,500 already invested for their college and career futures.

“Growing up in my family, college was never part of the conversation. At 17 years old, I was a teenager, a high school drop out with two children. I never thought about going to college; it wasn’t expected of me. I knew that being a mother of two children that if I wanted something better for my children, that I needed to do it first. Today, I stand in front of you as someone who can prove that cycles can be broken. I have two daughters with masters degrees, I have a granddaughter who graduated from college, and I have a grandson who is thinking about different colleges,” said Sheridan Academy for Young Leaders Principal Lisette Febus. “It’s not because a degree guarantees success, but because education opens doors and expands choices and gives our children options that we weren’t given. This is why we must teach our children that college is not just for some people, it’s for everyone. Let’s take advantage of NYC Kids RISE. They’re giving us something to begin planning your child’s college pathway now.”

During the presentation about the Save for College Program, The Family School and Sheridan Academy for Young Leaders teams worked with families to activate and view their students’ NYC Scholarship Accounts and learn about how they can work together to support their children’s college and career goals, starting as early as kindergarten. Families learned how they can receive up to $175 in additional rewards for their child’s NYC Scholarship Account when they complete steps in the Program: when they activate the account, open their own college and career savings account, and start saving their own money in the ways and amounts that make sense for them.

NYC Kids RISE has provided schools with toolkits, digital and print materials, outreach tools, and additional resources available in multiple languages to encourage families to activate their child’s NYC Scholarship Account and take other steps in the Program. For support with activating and viewing their child’s account in their language, families can reach out to their school, attend an upcoming virtual workshop at nyckidsrise.org/events, email NYC Kids RISE at [email protected], or call the NYC Kids RISE hotline at 833-543-7473.

About NYC Kids RISE

The NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program is a universal, community driven wealth-building platform for New York City neighborhoods that expands access to mainstream financial products; builds individual, family, and collective financial assets; provides financial education for families and students; and brings schools and communities together to support all their children’s futures. The Save for College Program’s model is intended to drive neighborhood-level changes in economic opportunity and mobility by promoting asset building, reinforcing college- and career-going expectations, and strengthening social capital, networks, and infrastructure in neighborhoods across New York City.

NYC Kids RISE launched a pilot phase in 2017 in geographic School District 30 (Queens), in partnership with the NYC Public Schools and the City of New York, with founding support from the Gray Foundation. Starting in the 2021-2022 school year, and every year going forward, students in eligible grades enrolled in an NYC public school, including participating charter schools, automatically receive an NYC Scholarship Account with money set aside for future college and career training, and opportunities to earn more through early rewards and Community Scholarships, unless their families choose not to participate. To date, more than $57 million has been invested across the Accounts of more than 340,000 students that will help to support their future college and career training.