SPPS students as young as pre-K are already getting a finance lesson.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Students in Saint Paul Public Schools are being introduced to saving for college early through a city program that automatically creates college savings accounts and pairs them with early classroom lessons.
The effort is tied to CollegeBound Saint Paul, which launched in 2020. The program creates college savings accounts for eligible children living in St. Paul born in 2020 or after, and provides an initial deposit of $50.
Program manager Kaz Hover said the initiative combines savings accounts with classroom learning and opportunities to grow those accounts.
“We get to complement the savings accounts with lessons in the classroom, additional savings in their accounts,” Hover said.
In classrooms, school counselors are introducing basic financial concepts through simple activities. In one lesson, students were given coins and asked to choose a prize, but there’s a catch. The students have to wait for the markers, Play-Doh, or ball to come in.
“Then you can remember that you learned about saving for college, and that all the grown-ups around you in St. Paul believe in you — that you can do and be anything you want to in the whole wide world,” said Sue Arvidson to the pre-K students in a nature program at the Community Education Center at J.J. Hill.
Arvidson is a counselor on special assignment supporting the program in St. Paul Public Schools.
“It’s really the mindset that we help instill in students — and also instill in all the rest of us,” Arvidson said.
Families can also contribute to the accounts and earn additional deposits from the city through bonuses, such as attending parent-teacher conferences. Savings donated by the families themselves in the accounts can grow over time.
For St. Paul families who have questions about their account, contact the team at CollegeBound or ask your school’s counselor.