Starting December 6, Miami-Dade kindergarteners will be able to open a savings account

DORAL, FL -Miami-Dade kindergarteners can now get a savings account with a deposit of up to $50 upon an initiative of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

According to WSVN, more than 2,000 students from 30 public elementary schools throughout Miami will be able to open a savings account starting Dec. 6.

The purpose of this new initiative, made in partnership with Future Bound Miami, is to help more students access higher education.

“So many individuals actually believing that empowering kindergartner students with a savings account to build revenues towards college tuition could be possible…and that’s exactly what we’ve launched,” said Superintendent Alberto Carvalho to WSVN.

Securing college education it’s a matter of planning according to research, since it has been found students with even small savings accounts are three times more likely to enroll in college and four times more likely to graduate. 

Now parents of Miami-Dade kindergarteners will be able to plan ahead of time their kids future through a savings account that has no fees, and no minimum deposits.

Parents who qualify will have a month to activate their free accounts that will only be accessed until kids are 18, something that in addition to increasing their chances of getting to college, will also teach them valuable lessons of financial education. 

“I just think that it’s a perfect opportunity for me to plan for my child and also try to teach her some financial responsibility,” said Jo-Lyn Dixon, a parent, to the media outlet.

And Superintendent Alberto Carvalho expects this program reaches to “all zip codes” so that more children have a greater opportunity to access higher education. 

“Here’s an approach that will benefit 30 elementary schools in the City of Miami, feeding five high schools, eventually spreading to the entire county to provide savings accounts for college for every single kindergartner student in Miami-Dade,” said Carvalho.