The first day of kindergarten is a day of high hopes and high anxiety. At Boston Public Schools (BPS), wide-eyed children met their teachers and entered new classrooms, while parents toed the sidelines with hugs and encouragement.

But this year, unlike any other year in BPS history, these kindergartners and their families will embark on their school journey with a new kind of support for the future: children’s savings accounts.

BPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh celebrate kindergartners’ first day of school at Roosevelt School in Hyde Park.

Boston Saves, the City’s children’s savings account program, is expanding citywide to provide every K2 kindergartner in BPS with accounts dedicated to their future college or career training. These accounts are automatically seeded with $50 to give their families a base on which to continue to save.

Formerly a pilot program in 11 BPS schools, Boston Saves also provides:

  • opportunities for families to earn more money for their child’s account
  • an online platform to track savings progress
  • resources on financial and educational planning
  • events that make saving and planning a fun, community-wide effort

The ultimate goal is to empower families and to save and plan for their children’s futures with the support of their City, schools, and community.

While families’ hope and anxiousness won’t end with the first day of kindergarten, they will have the continual support of Boston Saves to ensure their children can become the selves they aspire to be.

Read the City of Boston press release to learn more about the citywide launch of Boston Saves.

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