CSPN Rolls Out College Roadmap for Every Grade Level
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The College Savings Plans Network is observing back-to-school month by rolling out a higher education prep guide for parents. The Roadmap For Their Future includes forward-looking suggestions for every age group – from infant to 12th-grader. The age-specific ideas range from exposing an infant to a parent’s workplace to going through the financial aid process together senior year.
The guide was created by seven parents in the college savings field. All are 529 college savings professionals who help families financially prepare for college. They represent 529 plans throughout the country – from Alaska to Massachusetts.
“This guide is a list of ideas for parents by parents. It’s what we did, what we plan to do or what we’d do differently to prepare a child for the future,” said Betty Lochner, one of the authors.
The Roadmap For Their Future includes guidance on college preparation, exploring career options and teaching basic financial literacy. The guide is broken into individual sections for every grade level as well as preschool, toddlers and infants.
“If you’re looking for a ‘tiger-parenting’ approach, look elsewhere. We’re not suggesting you sign your nine-year-old up for ACT prep courses. We’re offering you what worked for us,” said Young Boozer, another author and chairman of the 529 For Their Future Campaign.
“We know serious college prep starts in ninth or 10th grade. We share suggestions on when to do what during those crucial high school years. We also show how you can help your preschooler, second-grader, and middle schooler explore their interests, develop self-confidence, and understand money. Whether they just started walking or driving, there are ways to equip them for tomorrow.”
For younger children, the recommendations include:
- Creative, active and interactive activities for infants and toddlers.
- Ideas for expanding a child’s horizons when running errands.
- How to ask “what do you want to be when you grow up” at different stages.
- Starting a “What I Want To Be Book” to track a career aspirations.
- Establishing an achievement board to celebrate areas of success.
Each age section includes ideas on how to teach children about money. The authors share strategies for allowance, counting games, a snack budget exercise, an activity on debt involving school lunch, and ways to teach about the stock market, compound interest, and student loans. The authors also explain how parents can save for higher education a little at a time with a 529 college savings plan.
ABOUT THE GUIDE
The Roadmap For Their Future is an age-by-age guide on how parents can prepare their
children for the future, with a focus on career guidance, college preparation, basic
financial literacy and minimizing potential student debt. The guide is broken into individual sections for every grade level as well as preschool, toddlers and infants.
The report is authored by seven parents in the 529 college savings field: Betty Lochner of Washington, Young Boozer of Alabama, Troy Montigney of Indiana, Patricia Roberts of New York, Bryn Ramjoue of Utah, Lael Oldmixon of Alaska and Julie Shields-Rutyna of Massachusetts.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL 529 CAMPAIGN
The For Their Future Movement involving 49 partners in 29 states and Washington, D.C., launched on March 4, 2019. The public-private partnership was formed on the basis of increasing awareness of 529s, which help families save for higher education and lessen reliance on student loans. The effort marks the first time state plans and their partners have united to launch a national campaign.
