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Kindergarten to College: Local Innovation, National Impact

Designed to promote savings and economic mobility, Children's Savings Accounts are universal, long-term,

asset-building accounts established for children with public seed money and that grow over time with

additional deposits and earnings. San Francisco's Kindergarten to College (K2C) initiative will open a

Children's Savings Account for all children entering kindergarten in the City's public schools, putting San

Francisco at the forefront of efforts to model how a national Child Savings Account policy could be

implemented in the United States

K2C is designed to reach four main goals:

1. Increase likelihood of college attendance. A child with a college savings account in any amount is

seven times more likely to attend college than one without, regardless of income, race or academic

achievement. K2C will increase academic aspirations for every child by making college a reality from

the first day of schooL.

2. Reduce financial exclusion. Low-income and minority families are overwhelmingly excluded from

mainstream financial products that build wealth. One in three San Francisco children are born into

families with no savings or assets of any kind, one in .two for African American and Latino children.

K2C will help parents begin saving by simplifying the process for opening a college savings account

and incentivizing deposits.

3. Increase Financial Literacy. K2C will be the vehicle that incorporates financial education into our

school classrooms, as part of the math curriculum. With K2C, our schools can create a culture of

savings, improve financial literacy, increase assets, and bring more children and families into the

financial mainstream.

4. Leverage private investment in San Francisco familes. K2C will leverage private funds for

savings matches, create behavioral incentives, and help families earn money for college at

significantly higher rates than they can earn by saving on their own.

The Basics

. Every child entering a kindergarten class in a San Francisco public school will receive a college

savings account with an opening deposit of $50 from the City of San Francisco.

. The City will incentivize application for the free and reduced lunch program by providing an additional

$50 deposit to the accounts of eligible children in families returning the applications on time.

. Friends and family members, employers and the children themselves will be encouraged to make

additional deposits into the account.

. The City will fundraise to match deposits, helping accounts to grow and encouraging further

investment by family and friends. Funds are in place to match the first $100 of family savings.

. Culturally and developmentally appropriate financial education will be provided to parents/caregivers

and children.

. A pilot will begin implementation in spring 2010 with entering kindergarteners enrolling in a subset

(18) of the City's elementary schools.

. Lessons learned from Kindergarten to College will be widely disseminated and used to inform state

and national policy.

The Partnership

Kindergarten to College is an initiative of the San Francisco Mayor's Ofice, the Office of the Treasurer, the

Department of Children, Youth, & Their Families and the San Francisco Unified School District, with support

from CFED, EARN and the New America Foundation.