From $50 to College in San Francisco

Five and six year olds across San Francisco are graduating kindergarten this week with more than just a paper diploma—they also have their own personal college savings account.

This morning, I attended a graduation ceremony for 80 kindergarten students at Gordon J Lau Elementary in the Chinatown neighborhood of San Francisco. Not only is Gordon J Lau Elementary one of the largest schools in the city, but 90 percent of the students receive free or reduced lunches. Many are the first in their family to attend an American school and very few speak English at home.

Before the ceremony began, City Treasurer Jose Cisneros spoke to families about the Kindergarten to College (K2C) program that recently opened college savings accounts for all the kindergartners at the school (and at 12 other schools across town). The accounts are initially seeded with $50 from the City and families are encouraged to save small amounts each month, so that the accounts can grow and help students attend college. “Not only are we celebrating the kindergarten class of 2011,” said the Treasurer, “but I want to celebrate the future college graduation class of 2027.”

After applauding the young graduates, Treasurer Cisneros told me, “we all know that $50 isn’t going to be enough to pay for college,” and that the accounts are supposed to help families become familiar with savings tools and planning ahead. He explained that he “wants to work with the families” to take advantage of City matching and direct deposit programs that will make families’ dollars go further. (To watch our short conversation and learn more about the matching programs and ways to support K2C, click here.)

Amidst proud families and excited grads, Principal Marlene Callejas discussed the reactions of parents upon learning about K2C. Their American dream, she explained, is for their children to receive a great education. For families struggling to survive, these accounts mean everything. (To watch our short chat about why these accounts are so important to these kids, click here.)

As I walked out of her office, Principal Callejas and her office staff expressed their heartfelt thanks to funders and the City Treasurer’s office for creating “these accounts [that] are putting our kids on the path to fulfilling the American dream.”

For additional information on K2C, go to: http://www.k2csf.org/.