School Partner Resources

The NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program provides families, schools, and communities with a way to work together to save for their children’s futures. It’s a scholarship and savings program designed to make college and career training more accessible and achievable for all NYC public school students, starting in kindergarten—no matter their family’s income or immigration status.

Through the Program, every eligible student enrolled in an NYC public school (including participating charter schools) automatically receives an NYC Scholarship Account with an initial $100, unless their parents or guardians choose not to participate by “opting out” of the Program.

Once a student is enrolled in the Program, their family receives a Welcome Booklet with information on how to take foundational steps. These foundational steps are called the “3 Building Blocks,” and families earn a $25 reward toward their child’s NYC Scholarship Account for each one:

• Building Block 1: Activate and view your child’s NYC Scholarship Account with the initial $100 (receive first $25 reward)
• Building Block 2: Open and connect a college and career savings account you own for the benefit of your child (receive another $25 reward)
• Building Block 3: Make the first $5 deposit into your connected account (receive another $25 reward)

After a family completes all three Building Blocks, their child becomes eligible to receive a $100 “Savings Match” starting on the first day of first grade. Read more about the Savings Match here.

Students with NYC Scholarship Accounts are also eligible to receive Community Scholarships. Community Scholarships are financial contributions from organizations, businesses and other institutions that are made to groups of students’ NYC Scholarship Accounts to demonstrate support for every child’s success.

As of school year 2025-2026, students enrolled in kindergarten, first, second, third, and fourth grade at NYC public schools (including participating charter schools) are eligible to participate.

Every subsequent school year, the eligibility expands to include incoming kindergarten students. This means by School Year 2026-2027, every kindergarten through fifth grade student at a NYC public elementary school (including participating charter schools) will be eligible to participate in the Program.

Note for District 30: Because the Program was piloted in geographic School District 30 starting in 2017, every kindergarten through fifth grade student in the 39 pilot schools is eligible to participate.

Once a student in a participating grade has gone through their Opt-out Period (and their family chooses not to opt out), they are automatically enrolled in the Program. Families can activate and view their child’s NYC Scholarship Account at any time after the account is created, either on their own or with a school staff member’s support (see timeline here). If you’re a school supporting a family who is ready to activate, check out the Supporting Families to Activate and View their Children’s NYC Scholarship Accounts (Building Block 1) section of our School Guide and Toolkit.

Schools play a key role in integrating the Save for College Program into their communities. They give families information about how the Program works, support families to complete the foundational Building Blocks, and use the Program as a tool to advance college and career readiness efforts. Schools can integrate the Program into the core components of their day-to-day operations and customize it to meet the needs and desires of their own school community. Read the Role of Schools section in our School Guide and Toolkit to learn how to get started.

During the school year, the Program is structured around four key milestones:

1. Education Period (followed by the Initial Opt-out Period)
2. NYC Scholarship Month
3. 529 Day
4. K Graduation

Through these milestones, schools can support eligible families to learn about the Program, make an informed decision if they are considering opting out of the Program, and then take action once their children’s NYC Scholarship Accounts are available to activate and view, (including activating their child’s NYC Scholarship Accounts and earning additional rewards for that account).