2024 Year End Review: NYC Kids RISE Scholarship Program’s Accomplishments This Year
2024 Year End Review: NYC Kids RISE Scholarship Program’s Accomplishments This Year
Editor’s note: Staten Islander News has interviewed Debra Ellen-Glickstein, the founder of the organization, as well as Mark Foggin, an alumni donor for his elementary school. We also covered the opening announcement for this year’s newest group of eligible student and family participants.
As we prepare to welcome nearly 80,000 elementary school students into the Save for College Program next week, we’re reflecting on all that we’ve accomplished together for our kids over the past year. We’ve built a strong foundation for hundreds of thousands of elementary school students throughout all our neighborhoods to strive for their college and career dreams. Every contribution and connection to the Save for College Program played a part. We hope you’ll join us in celebrating some of those stories below, and consider making a year-end donation. Together, we are demonstrating what it looks like to invest in all of our children, and in turn, all of our collective futures.
We want to extend heartfelt gratitude to our partners across government, the private sector, philanthropy, schools, and communities. We look forward to building upon this public-private-community partnership and realizing the vision that every public school student in New York City will graduate with a meaningful financial asset for their future.
From our team at NYC Kids RISE, we wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy holiday season, and the best for the new year.
In community,
Debra-Ellen Glickstein
Founding Executive Director
By the Numbers
209,580
elementary school students have NYC Scholarship Accounts
99%
of first graders in NYC public schools now have a financial asset for college and career training
$35,770,000
total assets accumulated across NYC Scholarship Accounts
$5,020,000
total funded in Community Scholarships by local organizations, businesses, philanthropy, and community members since the first one in 2019
$395,100
channeled by NYC Public School Alumni into the NYC Scholarship Accounts of students at their elementary schools through the 2023-2024 NYC Public School Alumni Community Scholarships
$230,978
total saved for college + career training for elementary school students in Queensbridge Houses—the largest public housing development in the country
180+
Workshops + Engagement Events held in 2024 to engage Save for College Program families in taking the foundational steps, including virtual workshops led by Community School Districts
50+
professional learning sessions held for school stakeholders in 2024 to build capacity around using the Program as a tool for college + career readiness at their schools
65
Community Scholarships supporting students’ college + career futures in 2024
Words from a Parent/Guardian
“The money in the NYC Scholarship Account will make my child grow up anticipating that one day she’s going to college. Finance won’t be a barrier – it will give her encouragement, boost her morale, and make her be like, ‘Oh, I really need to get into college and I have the funds already so nothing is going to stop me.’”
–Save for College Program Parent and Taft Houses Resident at a celebration of the 2024 Taft Houses Community Scholarship powered by Off the Block
2024 Year in Review
NYC Scholarship Month
Celebrating NYC Scholarship Month and More than 200,000 Students with NYC Scholarship Accounts
Kicking off NYC Scholarship Month in January 2024, we announced at P.S. 85, The Great Expectations School, that more than 200,000 students have NYC Scholarship Accounts citywide! Schools across the five boroughs like P.S. 169K Sunset Park School, Harlem Village Academies, and P.S. 78R hosted events where parents/guardians were supported by school teams to complete steps in the Save for College Program like activating and viewing their children’s NYC Scholarship Accounts for the first time. We also witnessed new traditions with alumni returning to their former elementary schools to affirm how the community believes in students’ potential and is supporting them to achieve their dreams.
Community Scholarships
Demonstrating the commitment of NYCHA Resident Associations, Houses of Worship, Community Based Organizations, Sports Teams, Businesses (+ more!) to the Educational Futures of Students
2024 saw a new record number of 65 Community Scholarships supporting the NYC Scholarship Accounts of nearly 14,500 students and totaling more than $1 million! These included the Concert for College Community Scholarship 2024, spearheaded by the Center of Hope International, which raised more than $200,000 for students across nine elementary schools in Queens; the Amazin’ Mets Community Scholarship 2024, giving 1,350 students across Queens an additional boost in their NYC Scholarship Accounts; the Ravenswood Resident Association Community Scholarship 2024 organized to support the college + career futures of first graders in Ravenswood Houses; and the Community Scholarship Powered by Hive 2024 that contributed to the NYC Scholarship Accounts of students at two elementary schools in Fort Greene near the park where the Brooklyn-based ultimate frisbee team practices. These all serve as models for demonstrating tangible support for our children. Learn more about Community Scholarships and how you can launch one to support public school students!
John King visits NYC Public Schools
Igniting the Movement to Invest in Students’ College + Career Dreams through 2024 NYC Public School Alumni Community Scholarships
In November, New York City Public School Alumni announced the 2024 launch and significant expansion of the NYC Public School Alumni Community Scholarships initiative, a first-of-its-kind vehicle for New Yorkers to invest socially and financially in the next generation of public school students from their neighborhoods. Are you an alum of an NYC public elementary school? Learn how you can get involved in supporting 5,000 third graders with this year’s campaign. You’ll be channeling assets into students’ NYC Scholarship Accounts and helping open their eyes to future college and career possibilities.
Professional Learning Sessions
Strengthening Elementary Schools’ Capacity to Leverage the Program as a Tool for College & Career Readiness
Throughout the year, NYC Kids RISE held more than 50 virtual Professional Learning Sessions and in-person trainings for school staff. School and district teams strengthened their support for families completing the foundational steps to receive more rewards for their child’s NYC Scholarship Account. Teams exchanged creative ideas for building the Save for College Program into the fabric of school communities to drive family engagement and advance college and career readiness.
Kindergarten Graduation
Celebrating Students Graduating with Assets for Their College and Career Futures
In June, school communities had more than one reason to celebrate. They welcomed families at ceremonies for kindergarteners and fifth graders moving up to the next stages in their academic journeys. Through the Save for College Program, kindergarteners through seventh graders from the Program pilot in geographic district 30 already have assets for future college and career training.
NYC Kids Rise events
Communities Coming Together to Support Families and Students’ Success
Throughout the school year, we came together with school and district partners, community-based organizations, city agencies, and elected officials to support families across the city at school community events and celebrations; book and backpack pack giveaways; toy drives and Family Fun Nights; resource fairs at summer and holiday celebrations; NYCHA Family Days, and more. Supporting more than 131 family and community engagement events, including bilingual live workshops at schools, complemented NYC Kids RISE support for families via email, phone, and text message outreach, and over 50 online information sessions (including virtual workshops led by and co-hosted with Community School Districts).
Laying the Groundwork for the Community Leadership & Training Institute
City Year New York Community Schools partnered with NYC Kids RISE to integrate the Save for College Program into their family engagement strategies at five schools. Community School teams partnered with their School Liaisons to hold workshops about the Program, provided families with one-on-one support to activate and view their children’s NYC Scholarship Accounts, and incorporated the NYC Scholarship Accounts into Community School Forums. This partnership further sets a foundation for the NYC Kids RISE Community Leadership + Training Institute which supports ongoing training and capacity building of community partners throughout the city.
Supporting Schools to Incorporate Financial Education Inside the Classroom and Beyond
Schools harnessed the Save for College Program to support financial education for families and students. They partnered with community based organizations and families to strengthen the financial foundation for our youngest students’ college and career dreams through activities like 529 Day Career Days, Market Days, financial empowerment workshops, and the Community School District 20 Financial Literacy Fair at P.S. 971 above.
Using Wealth and Income Policies to Form a New Social Contract: Giving People Something to Live for
Working to Expand Access to Capital Markets and Wealth Building
“New York City’s program, NYC Kids RISE, is a leading example of harnessing the power of a platform to deliver multiple streams of assets to children while bringing communities together,” said Dr. William Elliott, Professor & Founding Director of the Center on Assets, Education, and Inclusion (AEDI), University of Michigan, School of Social Work at the New Social Contract convening in September. NYC Kids RISE Founding Executive Director Debra-Ellen Glickstein joined Elliott, Michael Sherraden, Ray Boshara, Tom Shapiro, and more to exchange strategies and drive progress toward closing the wealth gap.
Debra-Ellen shared how New York can lead the way to a more inclusive future for all our children in her profile in PoliticsNY. As the country’s main state-administered, tax-advantaged investment product for college savings, 529 plans are a critical wealth-building tool for families. Today, through the Save for College Program, nearly every first, second and third grader in public school in New York City now has an NYC Scholarship Account invested in a NY 529 Direct Plan.
Growing and Celebrating the NYC Kids RISE Team
This year, we welcomed new team members to support the evolution and success of the Program, and we continued to invest in strengthening the ways we work together. Right now, we’re seeking a Chief of Development an Executive Assistant to the Executive Director. Other opportunities will be coming online in early 2024, please keep an eye on our careers page.
Small steps to big college and career dreams
nyckidsrise.org
833-KID-RISE (833-543-7473)
Banner Image: NYC Kids RISE Program participants. Image Credit – NYC Kids RISE
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