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BOSTON - Monday, January 9, 2023 - Mayor
Michelle Wu today announced an incentive to encourage families of Boston
Public Schools (BPS) K2-3rd graders to take advantage of Boston Saves, the City of Boston’s children’s savings
account (CSA) program. BPS K2 - 2nd grade families who log in to the
program’s online savings platform for the first time by January 31, 2023
will earn an extra $25 for their child’s account. This money, plus the $50
provided in every Boston Saves account and any additional incentives
families earn, can be used to pay for their child’s future college or
career training, providing a financial boost to their child's future.
Boston Saves is a collaborative effort between the Worker Empowerment
Cabinet (WE) and Boston Public Schools.
“Boston Saves is part of our efforts to
connect Boston’s young people and families with every economic opportunity
possible,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “This collaborative program
provides families with a chance to plan early and save even more for their
children’s future. As we start 2023, I encourage all of our newly
participating families to log in to Boston Save’s online savings platform
and take advantage of this incentive.”
“The Boston Saves program is one of the
best ways to prepae for your child’s academic and professional future,”
said Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper. “It’s
never too early, or too late to participate, and the January promotion is
the perfect time, if possible, to invest a little bit extra into your
children’s future. We encourage all of our families to take advantage
because data shows students who are enrolled in the Boston Saves program are
more-likely to enroll and attain a degree in college or a career-training
program.”
Boston Saves is a tool for working families
to save and plan for their children’s future college or career training by
providing every BPS K2 kindergartner with a CSA automatically seeded with
$50. The incentive encourages families to take a crucial first step towards
unlocking the program’s many benefits. More than 1,300 BPS families earned
a total of $32,825 for their children’s futures through last year’s January
incentive.
When a family logs in to the Savings Center, they can:
· See the money in their child’s Boston Saves
account
· Link their own financial account to the
Savings Center to track all their savings for their child in one place
· Earn more money for their child’s Boston
Saves account by taking simple steps like reading with their child, or
saving regularly
Additionally, Boston Saves motivates
families to earn more money for their child through regular incentives, and
provides financial education and resources that make saving easier and
helps families get ahead. Since the program began, Boston Saves has
provided funds more than $1,040,000, including $113,000 in family-earned
incentives, to more than 18,580 students.
Research shows that the mere presence of
savings can motivate post-secondary success. In one
study, low-income
children with less than $500 in an account dedicated to higher education
were three times more likely to enroll in college and four times more
likely to graduate from college.
“Boston Saves is a great initiative from the
City of Boston to help families learn about the importance of saving,”
said Erin DiCarlo, parent of two Boston Saves’ students at the
Adams Elementary School. “With financial literacy often lacking in
schools, this program helps teach families to have their children begin
saving for their future at a young age. It also gives students an incentive
to read!”
The Boston Saves incentive will be applied
to the accounts of all students whose families have logged in to the Savings Center for the first time since November 2022,
when the platform first became available to current K2 kindergarten
families. Currently, all K2-3rd grade students in BPS have Boston Saves
accounts. Families of students in select older grades may also have
accounts (and thus be eligible for the promotion) if they were part of the
Boston Saves pilot program or joined a pilot cohort. Families that have
eligible children should have received an email from bostonsaves@boston.gov with a direct link to log into their
child’s account. Parents/guardians who believe their child is eligible
(K2-3rd grade BPS students) but did not receive an email can contact the
Boston Saves team at bostonsaves@boston.gov with their child’s name, grade and
school. Find more information about Boston Saves including eligibility
requirements at BostonSavesCSA.org.
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