Sharon Robinson, the director of the Department of Administration, helped the program come to fruition in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee is looking for new ways to address low graduation rates for Milwaukee Public School students. One of these efforts came to fruition this school year in the form of a college savings account for children—something that has been in the works since 2015.
The Child Savings Account Initiative (CSA) will open a savings account for every K5 child enrolled in the MPS system. The master savings account will automatically include an initial seed of $25 per student, with opportunities for students to earn more through comparable matching programs if a student meets several milestones, such as good attendance.
Students can withdraw and use the money for their postsecondary school of choice when they turn 18. It is estimated that the program will serve more than 24,000 students during first three years of the initiative.
“Planting that seed of college bound identity in kids at their earliest age so that they can see that college is possible is really what this program is all about,” said Sharon Robinson, director of the Department of Administration for the City of Milwaukee. Robinson led a team that looked at other CSA programs across the nation. “Every child in this city deserves the chance to have a higher education.”
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An Investment
The City of Milwaukee is pairing with United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County and the Edvest College Savings Plan in order to implement this program. The city has accumulated $125,000 for the planning and technical assistance of the initiative thus far. However, the program will not be paid for with tax dollars down the road, but rather through private contributions.
“It’s an investment,” said Myra Edwards, senior advisor to Mayor Tom Barrett. “It’s an investment in the future and an investment in education.” Barrett originally announced his desire for this program in his 2016 address to the city.
The popularity of the CSA program has gained momentum over the years, reaching more than 382,000 children across 32 states in 2017—a 22% increase from 2016. Their studies have shown that low and moderate income children with college savings amounts between $1 and $499 are three times more likely to enroll in some type of postsecondary education. It is estimated that students in Milwaukee will have approximately $500 in savings by the time they graduate high school.
Fund My Future
The Milwaukee program, labeled Fund My Future, will be managed by the City of Milwaukee Department of Administration. They, along with support from Edvest, will promote awareness about the program across the city. A budget snapshot shows the total cost of the first years of the program amounting to approximately $1.4 million, according to an executive summary done by the Department of Administration. 69% of CSA programs across the nation receive support through community donations.
Recent data shows that MPS 4-year graduation rates are 26% lower than the rest of the state. Data has also shown that only 36.5% of African American students and only 32.3% of Hispanic students had plans to go to college, compared to 45.9% of white students in Milwaukee, according to research by Growing Prosperity. The program is hoping to address this disparity, as research from Prosperity Now has shown that students who have savings for college are four times more likely to graduate high school.
“I think it’s going to help families gain some momentum for moving on to higher education,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “We recognize for us to be competitive, we have to have better educational outcomes.”
