Aurora officially launches education savings account program

Chicago Tribune

17-04-2025

Aurora has officially launched a new program that is set to one day give all of the city's kindergarten students an education savings account with a starting contribution from the city.
The program, called Aurora's Promise, was previously announced last year by Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, first to The Beacon-News and later during the third of four State of the City addresses he held that year.
At a special event at Aurora City Hall Tuesday, Irvin ceremonially welcomed the first kindergarten students into the program with piggy banks and backpacks filled with educational materials and play money.
'This is more than just a financial investment. It's a promise from the city of Aurora, from our schools and from our community to believe in our children's potential from the very beginning,' said Irvin, whose term as mayor ends next month.
The savings accounts, which will be seeded with a $50 starting balance by the city of Aurora, can be used for any education after high school, including college or trade school.
Families will be encouraged to contribute what they can to their children's savings accounts with the goal of building lifelong saving habits and creating 'a powerful sense of possibility,' according to Irvin. The accounts will give every child a strong financial start regardless of where in the city they live or what their family's income is, he said.
The city will also be developing financial literacy programs as a part of Aurora's Promise, Aurora Director of Innovation and Strategy Martha Paschke said.
She told parents in attendance on Tuesday that she hopes they will start to dream with their child about the future, whether their children want to train to be an electrician, an astronaut, a librarian, a hair stylist or even a city employee or mayor.
All public school kindergarten students who live in Aurora are expected to eventually be automatically enrolled in the program, unless their families decide to opt out, through planned city partnerships with all six school districts in the city, city staff have previously said.
In addition to West Aurora School District 129 and East Aurora School District 131, parts of Oswego-based School District 308, Indian Prairie School District 204, Batavia School District 101 and Kaneland School District 302 are also in Aurora. Only the kindergarten students from those districts living in the city of Aurora would get the savings accounts.
The program is currently starting as a pilot just in East and West Aurora school districts, and the program's pilot will require parents to opt-in when they sign their children up for kindergarten.
'We value the strong start the Aurora's Promise child savings account program can provide for our students to begin investing in their future, and we look forward to our students reaching their full potential with many positive opportunities from the city of Aurora like this one,' said East Aurora School District Director of Early Childhood Education Rosary Horne.
West Aurora School District Superintendent Michael Smith said that he is supportive of any program that helps families start planning for education after high school early, especially as the father of a high school senior.
'The years between kindergarten and graduation fly by faster than anyone can expect. One day you're packing lunch boxes, and the next day you're figuring out how to pay for textbooks,' he said.
A city of Aurora news release said a major milestone for the initiative was the recent approval of Memorandum of Understandings by both East Aurora and West Aurora school districts to participate in the pilot during the upcoming 2025–26 school year.
East Aurora Board of Education members previously raised concerns that the nonprofit set to manage the program would be getting large amounts of student data and that the savings accounts did not build interest.
However, the East Aurora school board ultimately approved the data-sharing agreement for the Aurora's Promise program at its March 17 meeting.
Outgoing East Aurora Superintendent Jennifer Norrell said that the district had further discussion on the program after it was met with concern from the board in January. Norrell noted that the program is opt-in, and that the agreement will expire June 30, 2026, at which point it would be brought back to the board for them to vote on extending the program in the district.
Other than the school districts, another partner with the city in the Aurora's Promise program is Operation Hope, a non-profit that is set to manage the program. The organization already manages a similar program in Atlanta and was the only one to respond to the city's request for proposals to manage the program, officials have said.
The Aurora City Council approved a 20-year, $1.96 million contract with Operation Hope in December. At that time, the program drew criticism from some aldermen, including incoming mayor and current Ald. John Laesch, at-large.