It’s college decision season, a time when New York City graduates are receiving acceptance letters and celebrating the next steps on their journeys to higher education and fulfilling careers. It’s a nostalgic time for us — both alumni of New York City’s public schools and current civic leaders.
Today’s students have to contend with breaking news about unprecedented federal funding cuts for higher education and uncertain futures for K-12 programs in the wake of the proposed elimination of the U.S. Department of Education, leaving our kids with crushing doubts about opportunities to pursue their college and career dreams.
It’s up to New Yorkers everywhere to send New York City Public School students a powerful message — we support you to achieve your highest aspirations and become the future leaders of our city. Through NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program, our city has more powerful tools than anywhere else in the country to boost kids’ higher education journeys.
NYC Public School Alumni Community Scholarships are a first-of-their-kind vehicle for New Yorkers to invest in students from the elementary school communities that nurtured our own early development. The scholarships are an initiative developed by alumni, and launched with NYC Kids RISE as part of the Save for College Program, a public-private-community partnership that provides an NYC Scholarship Account for every public school student when they start kindergarten. So far, $42 million has been invested across more than 282,000 students’ accounts for their college and career training.
As New York City Public School alumni, graduates of the largest and most diverse school system in the country, we have created community scholarships for the third graders at P.S. 123 in Jamaica, Queens and P.S. 114 in Canarsie, Brooklyn. That means that funds we contributed and raised will go directly to the NYC Scholarship Accounts of third graders at our alma maters and be invested in a NY 529 Direct Plan account. Research suggests that a child in a low-income household with a college savings account of just $1 to $500 is three times more likely to go to college and more than four times more likely to graduate than a child without an account.
This year, alumni representing every single school district across the city hit a new milestone. We channeled more than $325,000 in scholarships to nearly 6,000 third graders, helping establish the new tradition of creating pathways for kids at our elementary alma maters, when foundations are built and early expectations are set for higher education and beyond. Children become what they see, and through NYC Public School Alumni Community Scholarships, students hear from those of us who used to sit in their very seats, and can begin to envision new possibilities for their futures — whether as leaders of a Chamber of Commerce or of New York City Public Schools — each steps on our respective professional journeys.
As natives of Jamaica, Queens and Canarsie, Brooklyn, our childhood experiences were different, but we shared the invaluable gift of having role models from our neighborhoods. There was Ms. Beckford at P.S. 123, who never let us forget how high her expectations were for us 5th graders. And there was Mrs. Schoenfeld at P.S. 114, who could take on any and all challenges students were facing, inside or outside the classroom. These New Yorkers demonstrated at a critical time — when we were young students in a New York City public school — that there were people who cared about and believed in us.
When we visited our elementary schools through the Save for College Program, we heard the third graders make connections between their own aspirations and the pathways we’ve taken, with new curiosity and confidence. When we show up for students like this, we are sharing our social capital alongside financial assets. After all, access to college or career opportunities isn’t just about access to funds — it’s about access to social networks, and the assurance that you have a community standing behind you.
Stepping up for our children is part of what New Yorkers do, and we have better infrastructure to do it than ever, whether by investing through NYC Public School Alumni Community Scholarships or harnessing the power of Community Scholarships within our social networks or neighborhoods. We can invest in the future of our City and send a message to students when they need it most: “We believe in you and we have your back.”
Porter is a senior fellow for the Center for Educational Innovation and the former chancellor of New York City Public Schools. Peers is the president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.
