The P.S. 347 community joins 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

P.S. 347 American Sign Language & English Lower School Principal Pam Pritzker-Ridley, Assistant Principal Alayna Foy, teachers Mary Anne Fiorillo, Eileen Lograno, Samantha Schaffer, and Jason Norman and Kindergarten and First Graders celebrate NYC Scholarship Month with Community School District 2 Superintendent Kelly McGuire, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, NYC Kids RISE Founding Executive Director Debra-Ellen Glickstein, and NYC Kids RISE Managing Director, School Networks Courtney Winkfield. Photo by Lotoya Francis for NYC Kids RISE (January 28, 2026). Download photos here.

February 3, 2026

Manhattan, NY – On Wednesday, January 28th in Gramercy Park, Manhattan in celebration of NYC Scholarship Month, P.S. 347 American Sign Language & English Lower School and Community School District 2 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.

Principal Pam Pritzker-Ridley, who kicked off the workshop, was joined by Community School District 2 Superintendent Kelly McGuire, NYC Kids RISE Founding Executive Director Debra-Ellen Glickstein, and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal to celebrate with families how P.S. 347 students 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 Manhattan, nearly 50,000 students have more than $8.2 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.”

Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said: “From Inwood to the Financial District, Manhattan families are now part of a citywide effort that helps young students begin saving for their futures from the moment they step into a kindergarten classroom. Congratulations to NYC Kids RISE, Mayor Mamdani, Chancellor Kamar Samuels, and partners across the public, philanthropic, and community sectors for helping this program reach so many children and achieve these significant milestones. During NYC Scholarship Month, I encourage Manhattan parents and guardians to activate their children’s NYC Scholarship Accounts and take full advantage of this remarkable opportunity.”

The P.S. 347 NYC Scholarship Month celebration is an example of the ways schools across Manhattan 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 P.S. 347 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.”

“The NYC Scholarship Month celebration at P.S. 347 The American Sign Language & English Lower School was a wonderful way to honor this historic school community and our families,” said Community School District 2 Superintendent Kelly McGuire. “We want all families across District 2 to know that the money invested across students’ NYC Scholarship Accounts is our collective way of saying: ‘Your school, your families, and your whole city believe in you.’ I encourage families to activate their children’s NYC Scholarship Accounts today so they can view the money already invested for their future!”

At P.S. 347, 75 students have NYC Scholarship Accounts with over $11,000 already invested for their college and career futures.

“I myself went through undergrad and graduate school through scholarships,” said P.S. 347 Principal Pam Pritzker-Ridley. “My parents did not go to college, and I am now a principal. It’s incredibly important to me personally that students have access to the financial resources they need to pay for college.”

“This is a great opportunity for our kids and we should take advantage of it now. It’s a great Program to start early with planning for the future. I hope with the continued support of this school and the Program—support for every child—they’ll have what they need for the future,” said Rochelle, parent of a student attending P.S. 347 at the school’s NYC Scholarship Month breakfast and workshop. “It’s better to start with community partnership and support for these children and what they need, so that they’re ready for their future and they have enough money to start college when it’s time. For my daughter’s future, I think of college or vocational training, whatever she decides she likes. Most parents are struggling with supporting their kids’ needs, and saving money for their kids’ futures, so having more collaboration and partner organizations to support them is great!”

During the presentation about the Save for College Program, the P.S. 347 team 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.