You are reading

Many Jackson Heights/Elmhurst Children to Get Extra Funds for College

Photo: Courtesy of NYC Kids Rise

April 20, 2021 By Ryan Songalia

Public school students who are from among the hardest hit areas by the pandemic will get a bit of financial help in fulfilling their college dreams.

More than 1,900 kindergarten-to-third grade students from five schools in Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst and Corona will split a $70,000 contribution to their college savings accounts from NYC Kids Rise and the MetLife Foundation.

The students are among the more than 13,000 children in Queens School District 30, who have college savings accounts that were established through the NYC Kids RISE “Save for College” program, which was created in 2017. An estimated $6 million has been contributed to their college funds, the organization says.

The latest $70,000 donation will equate to about $37 per student at the five schools. The eligible students attend East Elmhurst Community School (P.S. 329), The Ruby G. Allen School (P.S. 148) in East Elmhurst, The Christa McAuliffe School (P.S. 149) and P.S. 280 in Jackson Heights, and The Harry T. Stewart Sr. School (P.S. 92) in Corona.

The contribution will also come with some advice for many of the students. Several MetLife employees will offer third graders virtual “College and Career Sessions,” as a means to help them map out their future.

“The financial contribution from the MetLife Foundation, coupled with their participation in virtual college and career sessions, both help to demonstrate the ways in which local institutions can become part of an ecosystem of support around our students and their families,” said Council Member Daniel Dromm in a statement.

Meanwhile, Council Member Francisco Moya said the funds come at a time when many parents are in need.

“This is how we support a community that has been hard hit by COVID-19,” Moya said.

Rachel Staroba-Hallenbeck, principal at P.S. 329 in East Elmhurst, calls the program “another tool” to help create a brighter future for the students in the district.

“Far too many children in our community grow up thinking that college and higher education just isn’t in the cards for them,” Staroba-Hallenbeck said. “The NYC Kids RISE community is doing important work to change that by helping to shift the conversation around who is able to save for college, excel in school, and become the leaders of tomorrow.”

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Senior assaulted near Francis Lewis Park in Whitestone: NYPD

A 68-year-old man was brutally assaulted by a stranger in broad daylight near the entrance to Francis Lewis Park in Whitestone on Sunday afternoon, and police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing are asking for the public’s help in tracking down his assailant.

The random attack occurred just before 3 p.m. on Sept. 8, as the victim was walking in the vicinity of 3rd Avenue and the Whitestone Expressway. The perpetrator approached and engaged the victim in a verbal dispute. The argument turned violent when the suspect punched the victim in the face with a closed fist, knocking him to the ground, where he struck his head, police said. The suspect then fled in an unknown direction.

Woman allegedly choked in Queensboro Hill by robber who snatched her bag containing thousands in cash: NYPD

Police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing are looking for a strangler who robbed a 63-year-old woman in Queensboro Hill on the night of Thursday, Aug. 29.

The victim was walking on a residential block near the intersection of Frame Place and Maple Avenue just before midnight, when a stranger approached her and began to choke her. The perpetrator snatched her bag, which contained $6,000 in cash, her wallet and an iPhone.

Flushing man charged with murder in fatal stabbing of wife at spa

A Flushing man was criminally charged in the fatal stabbing of his wife in front of horrified customers at a Kissena Boulevard spa during the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 3.

Jiahai Ma, 25, of Cherry Avenue, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Wednesday evening on a criminal complaint charging him with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon for allegedly killing 26-year-old Jui Mei Tang during a fit of rage in the basement of the Bodywork Spa at 41-39 Kissena Blvd.