During the 2024-25 school year, more than 82,000 New York City elementary school students received NYC Scholarship Accounts through the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program

NYC Schools Chancellor Aviles-Ramos, P.S. 6 Norma Adams Clemons Academy, School District 17, NYC Mayor’s Office of Equity & Racial Justice, NYC Kids RISE, and the Gray Foundation to mark important milestone this Friday, January 31 with NYC Scholarship Month Celebration at P.S. 6 in Brooklyn

Parents and guardians are encouraged to activate and view their children’s NYC Scholarship Accounts at nyckidsrise.org/activate

January 27, 2025

NEW YORK — NYC Kids RISE Founding Executive Director Debra-Ellen Glickstein and NYC Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos in partnership with the NYC Mayor’s Office of Equity & Racial Justice and the Gray Foundation today announced that more than a quarter-million public school students now have NYC Scholarship Accounts through the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program. More than $42 million has been invested across the Accounts of more than 282,000 students that will help to support their future college and career training. Parents and guardians of participating students, including the 82,000+ students receiving NYC Scholarship Accounts this year, can now activate and view their children’s NYC Scholarship Accounts at nyckidsrise.org/activate.

Throughout the five boroughs this January, elementary schools are celebrating NYC Scholarship Month, the first opportunity new families in the Program have to activate and view their children’s NYC Scholarship Accounts. As part of these celebrations, school communities across the city are hosting events and activities to support families in completing this critical first step through in-person workshops, one-to-one outreach, multimedia campaigns, and more.

This Friday, January 31 at 8:00 a.m., NYC Public Schools Chancellor Aviles-Ramos, P.S. 6 Norma Adams Clemons Academy, School District 17, NYC Mayor’s Office of Equity & Racial Justice, NYC Kids RISE, and the Gray Foundation will mark this important milestone with an NYC Scholarship Month Celebration at P.S. 6 located at 43 Snyder Avenue in Brooklyn.

“This NYC Scholarship Month, we are thrilled to share that over a quarter-million students already have NYC Scholarship Accounts, with a cumulative $42M+ in savings. Every student deserves to pursue a bold future, one full of possibilities and opportunities, and this program is an important step toward that goal,” said NYC Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos. “I encourage families to activate their children’s NYC Scholarship Accounts today; it’s never too early to start planning for their futures. Through the Save for College Program, we are working together—with our families, communities, the City of New York, and our partners at NYC Kids RISE—to invest in our young people and make sure all our students have financial assets to help them reach their full potential.”

“The annual celebration of NYC Scholarship Month underscores the Adams administration’s commitment to ensuring every student in NYC public schools graduates with the confidence to pursue higher education or a competitive career,” said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives Ana J. Almanzar. “Reaching over 282,000 students in the Save for College Program is a significant milestone in fostering the educational and career success of New York City students.”

“Through the Save for College Program, our city has a powerful vehicle to help families build wealth and invest in their children’s college and career aspirations. Reaching this program milestone—impacting more than a quarter of a million children and their families—is a proud moment for our city,” said Sideya Sherman, NYC Chief Equity Officer and NYC Mayor’s Office of Equity & Racial Justice Commissioner. “Now is the time for families across our city to activate their NYC Scholarship Accounts and dream boldly about the future.”

“As a mother, I know how crucial it is to set our children up to lead a financially healthy life so they can pursue their goals,” said NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga. “Thank you to NYC Public Schools and NYC Kids RISE for working hard to reduce future student loan debt and prepare our children for the financial realities of adulthood.”

“During this year’s NYC Scholarship Month, we’re marking another major milestone with more than 282,000 students now enrolled in the Save for College Program,” said Debra-Ellen Glickstein, Founding Executive Director of NYC Kids RISE. “That means this important wealth-building tool is now in the hands of more than a quarter-million students, unlocking pathways to support our kids’ college and career dreams. Together, we’re affirming a future where every child knows early on that their community believes in their potential.”

“NYC Scholarship Month is a time to celebrate what’s possible for the future of all children in New York City,” said NYC Kids RISE Board Chair and Gray Foundation Chief Executive Officer Dana Zucker. “This milestone celebration reaffirms our commitment to turning all our children’s dreams for college and career training into reality. It’s a reflection of the progress we’ve made with public, private, and community collaborators, taking the Save for College Program from a pilot in the communities of Queens School District 30 to a citywide platform for families in every neighborhood.”

“Creating opportunities to invest in our children’s future is a critical first step to helping them advance their higher education and career goals,” said New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. “It is a significant achievement that now, over 282,000 scholars have access to funds for college and to pay for career training. An investment in our scholars is an investment into the future of our city. I thank NYC Kids RISE for their leadership to expand this critical initiative to help break down the financial barriers that stand in the way of accessing education.”

“Every child deserves access to higher education, regardless of their socioeconomic status. The Save for College Program is helping to break down those burdensome financial barriers to college for thousands of students across our borough, and I’m proud to support such impactful work in our communities,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “As we mark NYC Scholarship Month, I encourage all our families whose children have been automatically enrolled in this program to activate their NYC Scholarship Accounts.”

“Since expanding the Save for College Program citywide in 2021, NYC Kids RISE has created NYC Scholarship Accounts for more than 57,000 Bronx kids to help expand their access to college, trade, and vocational schools once they graduate from high school,” said Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson. “With this strong start, I know our kids will go on to fulfilling careers, and can invest wealth back into our borough. Our Bronx families can help our kids and our borough thrive by encouraging students to dream big and by activating their children’s accounts today.”

“This is an important time to celebrate the wins for our children and plan for their futures,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “I am so grateful that through the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program more than 81,000 Brooklyn students now have access to NYC Scholarship Accounts with assets for college and career training. Thank you to NYC Kids RISE, NYC Public Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos, NYC Mayor’s Office of Equity & Racial Justice, and the Gray Foundation for their incredible efforts to support and empower our students.”

“The Save for College Program is an innovative wealth-building model that creates new opportunities for investment in our children and neighborhoods,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “More than 35,000 Manhattan families are now in a position to discuss higher education options earlier, and they’ll have the tools and assets to foster kids’ dreams. The Program can be a key to NYC’s post-secondary workforce readiness framework.”

The NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program is a community tool New Yorkers can use to build wealth in their neighborhoods and support the college and career dreams of their children. Every student enrolled in NYC public elementary schools (including participating charter schools), starting in kindergarten, automatically receives an NYC Scholarship Account invested in a NY 529 Direct Plan with an initial $100, unless they choose not to participate. Families 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. At the same time, communities can contribute to groups of these NYC Scholarship Accounts in the form of Community Scholarships, sending a message to students and families that their community is invested in their success. By combining seed scholarships, family savings, community investments, and funding streams from every level, the Program can build significant assets for public school students, especially low-income students of color.

Through this diverse network of partners, the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program seeks to ensure that every NYC public school kindergarten student graduates high school with a financial asset for college and career training, and that students, families, schools, and communities have increased college-and career-going expectations for every child. Research suggests that children with a college savings account of just $1 to $500 are three times more likely to go to college and more than four times more likely to graduate than a child without an Account.

As part of NYC Scholarship Month, NYC Kids RISE has provided schools with toolkits, guides, posters, outreach tools, and additional resources, available in multiple languages, to encourage families to activate their child’s NYC Scholarship Account at nyckidsrise.org/activate. For support with activating and viewing their child’s account, 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 community tool New Yorkers can use to build wealth in their neighborhoods and support the college and career dreams of their children. The public-private-community partnership provides NYC public school students, starting in kindergarten, with financial resources for higher education and support from their communities to achieve their goals.

NYC Kids RISE is a nonprofit organization managing the Save for College Program in partnership with NYC Public Schools and the City of New York. In the fall of 2017, the Save for College Program launched as a pilot in the communities of Queens School District 30 through a partnership between NYC Kids RISE, the NYC Department of Education, and the City of New York, with founding and ongoing support from the Gray Foundation. After the successful pilot, the Save for College Program was included in the Juneteenth Economic Justice Plan by the City’s Taskforce on Racial Inclusion & Equity. Starting in the 2021-2022 school year, and every year going forward, students in eligible grades enrolled in an NYC public elementary school (including participating charter schools) automatically receive an NYC Scholarship Account invested in a NY 529 Direct Plan account with an initial $100 and opportunities to earn more through early rewards and Community Scholarships, unless their families choose not to participate.

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