“If you’ve received a parking ticket or paid a meter, you’re now sending kids to college,” St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura Jones said on Tuesday, December 1, in launching the College Kids Children’s Savings Account program in the St. Louis Public Schools.
Last week, $175,000 in residual city parking revenue – which the treasurer manages – was deposited in new college savings accounts for 3,500 city children. Every kindergarten student in the district, including those at charter schools, now has $50 in a college savings account at 1st Financial Federal Credit Union.
These are deposit-only savings accounts restricted for post-secondary educational use, owned by the City of St. Louis under its tax ID number, with each student named as beneficiary.
Jason Q. Purnell, a professor at Washington University’s Brown School of Social Work, said he was in Jones’ office when she first “hatched the plan.” He was lead author of the “For the Sake of All” report (May 2014) that called for the creation of child college savings accounts as an engine for social mobility.
“For the Sake of All” reported on research by Michael Sherraden, founder of the Center for Social Development at the Brown School, comparing outcomes of children who were randomly selected to receive a college savings plan with those who were not. The children who received the accounts, Purnell summarized, were “more likely to go to college, have better social and emotional development, and have higher expectations from their parents.”
Admittedly, in Sherraden’s study the children selected were given a much larger initial college savings account – $1,000 – at birth. But, Jones said, “We had to start somewhere.” Also, for this year, they have raised support to offer some incentives to grow the accounts.
Students earn $1 for every week of perfect attendance. Parents will be able to access accounts at www.stlofe.org/collegekids. They can encourage their family and friends to deposit money into the account. Accounts will receive a dollar-for-dollar match up to the first $100 deposited. Also, parents can earn up to $50 by taking financial education courses.
While Jones said she intends to dedicate $175,000 in residual city parking revenue to open new accounts for incoming kindergarten students every year that she is treasurer, the partnership – which includes 1st Financial Federal Credit Union, Wells Fargo, United Way, the Center for Enterprise Development’s 1-to-1 Fund, Vistashare, St. Louis Public Schools and the Missouri Public Charter School Association – would have to raise funds to continue the incentives beyond this year. The accounts currently do not earn interest.
A group of lucky kindergarten students from Gateway Elementary School, where Jones launched the program, doubled their investment on the spot. Dwaun J. Warmack, president of Harris-Stowe State University, who attended the launch in support, donated $50 to each of their college savings accounts.
Their teacher, Erin Grate, led them through a cheering skit about going to college. The children all wore University of Missouri shirts for their skit. “I need to get Gateway some Harris-Stowe shirts,” Warmack quipped. “You have my word, I will get some shirts over here.”
The poise and attention of these children, sitting quietly throughout a lengthy program, impressed Douglas Thaman, executive director of the Missouri Charter Public School Association. “Sitting here listening to a bunch of adults talking,” Thaman said, “you have been so respectful.”
Kelvin Adams, superintendent of St. Louis Public Schools, said that every Friday district staff is encouraged to wear some sign of their college alma mater, to keep students mindful of higher education. He was deeply pleased that Jones started a savings account program that starts this thinking early. “This program sets the tone for them to think about college in a real sense,” Adams said.
Adams said, like Warmack, he was about to go make a donation to the future of the program – in his case, in the form of parking revenues.
“I’ve got a $50 parking ticket right now for delinquent parking,” Adams said. “Now everyone should want to pay their parking tickets – but not late, like me.”
For more information, visit www.stlofe.org/collegekids, which also has an FAQ page
