The city of San Francisco is boasting about the savings accounts it launched for kindergartners in 2011. Kindergarteners in the class of 2011 who are now starting college each had $50 automatically deposited into their accounts, according to the city. K2C Savings Account.
Income of recent high school graduates now averages more than $1,400.
The program was started by then-Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is now the state’s governor. $50 was placed into the account for each child entering kindergarten in San Francisco’s public schools.
Of the 4,000 graduates who graduated from San Francisco’s public high schools, 600 had accounts in the program.
“We started K2C so that every student in our public schools knows they have a future worth saving for,” said San Francisco Treasurer Jose Cisneros. “K2C is beginning to fulfill the promise that every child growing up in San Francisco has not only a dream, but a pathway to college.”
Officials said the program was started because research shows that children from low- and moderate-income families are three times more likely to attend college and four times more likely to graduate from college if they have money set aside. is more.
The program now has 52,000 accounts with average savings of more than $1,000.
People in the program are eligible to withdraw funds to use toward a post-secondary apprenticeship, training program, trade/vocational school, community college, or four-year college or university.