Parents are learning how to get a jumpstart on college savings

Parents with children at Magnolia Science Academy 2 in Lake Balboa are learning how to get a jumpstart on college savings thanks to the state’s California Kids Investment and Development Savings program (CalKIDS). Launched in 2022 by the state, CalKIDS offers children born in California and attending public schools, a college scholarship.

Irma Tun Hernández, whose 15-year-old daughter attends Magnolia Science Academy 2, said two years ago she received a letter that “my daughter had $500 available and I could open an account. … I don’t know much about computers and I was confused.” She said school officials helped her open an account and now her daughter has $775. “I’m very happy and hope my child can go to college,” she said.

Through the CalKIDS program, every child born in California on or after July 1, 2022, is automatically awarded a scholarship up to $175 in a CalKIDS Scholarship account. The funds are invested in the state’s official college savings program.

Alfredo Rubalcava, executive director of Magnolia Public Schools, said the CalKIDS program is “an amazing opportunity.” He said 96% of students in Magnolia Public Schools are admitted to college, “but when we look at the data only 10% end up going to UCs and about half of our students go to college.” He said the problem was “finances.”

Parent Maribel Solorza, has two children in Magnolia Public Schools, grades 7 and 11, and she opened an account for her eleventh grader. “My daughter wants to continue to learn, become a doctor or veterinarian,” she said. “I feel like a load is lifted off me knowing that my child will be able to continue learning. With this economy, one thinks: ‘I won’t be able to help.’”

Rubalcava said, “We’re saying to parents: ‘We can help you start building that college reserve at a very young age — as young as 4 — and when your son or daughter turns 18, they’re going to have ample money to go to their university of choice.’”