A grant from Wells Fargo is helping North High School freshmen start saving for life after high school.

Thanks to a $750,000 grant from Wells Fargo, each ninth-grader will receive a tax-free account designed to help pay for education or training after graduation, By Degrees Foundation officials recently announced.

The investment is part of a national effort by Wells Fargo to boost postsecondary opportunities for students from low- to moderate-income families — starting not at graduation, but in the first year of high school. Money from the grant will also be used to provide college savings accounts to the next three incoming ninth-grade classes at North, building a pipeline of students with early financial footing for their postsecondary plans.

Each account — formally known as a 529 college savings plan — will be seeded with $200. From there, students can grow their balance over time, earning additional deposits as they hit milestones such as strong grades, steady attendance and other achievements.

The goal, foundation leaders say, is as much about mindset as money: helping students see college or career training as attainable. Wells Fargo’s focus on ninth-graders reflects that strategy — meeting students at the beginning of their high school journey, when expectations and habits are still taking shape.

“We see that the kids who have these accounts are motivated and incentivized to be successful in high school,” said Emily Westergaard, CEO of the By Degrees Foundation, a nonprofit that works with students to improve high school graduation and postsecondary readiness rates through future-focused planning, savings programs, and other activities. The nonprofit currently serves students at Findley Elementary, Harding Middle School and North.

“This is a huge opportunity for us to expand our program and have an even bigger impact on our students,” Westergaard said.  

The nonprofit began in 1990 as part of the national “I Have a Dream Foundation.” In late 2018, the group disaffiliated with the national network, becoming a local nonprofit under the name By Degrees Foundation.

The foundation launched its college savings account program in 2014-15 at Findley, after studying research that showed the accounts play a role in increasing high graduation and postsecondary completion rates.

A subsequent analysis showed that students with the accounts “understood that they had a tailwind behind them,” Westergaard said. “Students who didn’t start with us at Findley felt a little like they were left behind. … That’s part of why we’re excited about [the grant]. It tells students that it’s not too late to start saving.”

The grant from Wells Fargo is part of a larger effort by the foundation to expand the 529 program to all North students. For the past eight months, By Degrees Foundation has quietly raised $4.3 million that will be used in part to start 529s for North’s 10th- through 12th-graders who don’t have an account. The foundation, whose goal is to raise $5 million in the campaign, hopes to expand the college savings program to other schools in the Des Moines district.

Since the 529 savings program was launched, 956 accounts have been opened including 329 this past year after expanding access to students and North and Harding.  

The average account balance for students at Findley is $610; at Harding, $1,200; and at North, $1,300, according to the nonprofit.

A study by the University of Kansas and Assets & Education Initiative showed that low- and moderate-income students with just $500 in a college savings account are more likely to enroll in a postsecondary program than those with no college savings. The report also said those with some savings for college are more likely to graduate than peers without the savings.

By Degrees Foundation recently expanded into Madison Elementary School and plans to launch its program at Oak Park Elementary School this fall, Westergaard said.

“We’ve got a two-pronged approach going: Helping make sure kids in high school realize that they still have opportunities available that will help propel them forward and starting with kids in kindergarten, so we can build that foundation from a very early age,” she said. The group’s long-term goal is to expand the program to all schools in the Des Moines school district, she said.

By Degrees Foundation also plans to use $250,000 from the Wells Fargo grant to pay for costs associated with staffing and operating a two-year financial health coach pilot program. Students would receive financial coaching and postsecondary planning through schoolwide and small-group activities as well as individually. 

One of the things the By Degrees team has discovered is that for many North seniors, a gap of about $2,000 exists between the cost of attending college and their financial award packages. Closing that gap would help eliminate cost as a barrier to pursuing postsecondary education or training, Westergaard said.

“These accounts address not only the financial barrier a lot of our low-income families face but they also address the hope barrier,” Westergaard said. “Students can start to think about ‘What can I do for $1,500?’ It brings [postsecondary education] back into the realm of possibilities.”

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3 students’ journey to college

‘You’re going to be something’ 

As a child, Tavien Bragg knew he would attend college.

“At a very young age, both of my parents would tell me, ‘You’re going to do something great in this life. … You’re going to be something. You’re going to do more than what anybody else in this family has done,’” Bragg said. “I have always been quick to tell people that I didn’t have a choice – I was going to go to college.”

What was left unanswered, though, was how to pay for a post-secondary education.

Part of the answer came from the By Degrees Foundation, a nonprofit that works with students to improve high school graduation rates and postsecondary readiness through future-focused planning and savings programs. Bragg became part of the program when he was a third-grader at Findley Elementary School. By Degrees opened a 529 college savings account in his name and when he met specific milestones, contributed money to the account.

The program also helped him to understand that doing well in school could lead to obtaining scholarships to help pay for college, Bragg said. “They took me on college visits; showed me what was required to be admitted into colleges; and helped me apply for scholarships.”

Bragg, 20, now an Iowa State University sophomore, is majoring in psychology with a double minor in political science and African American studies. His goal is to obtain a doctorate in clinical psychology, after which he hopes to work in the field doing therapy and evaluations as well as research.

Bragg’s high school grade-point average of 3.7 was among the reasons he received one of 100 First Cyclones Scholarships offered by ISU to first-generation and low-income students. Applicants must have a grade-point average of 3.0 to be eligible to apply for the renewable scholarship that pays for up to eight semesters of tuition at ISU. Bragg also has a Pell Grant and other financial aid that pays for living expenses.

The nearly $1,400 in the 529 college savings account has been used to pay for incidental fees associated with some of his classes, Bragg said.

“Anyone who has an opportunity to be part of the By Degrees program should take advantage of the opportunity,” Bragg said. “Many of us who are in that lower socioeconomic status, don’t have a lot of opportunities to obtain a higher education. Education is very important and you should take full advantage of the opportunities and resources that are available.”

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The dream of college becomes a reality

In high school, Natalia Guerra-Ceron’s future plans included attending college. She just didn’t know how she would pay for it.

Enter By Degrees Foundation, the Des Moines-based nonprofit that helps increase high school graduation and postsecondary readiness rates. The program helped Guerra-Ceron stay focused on doing well academically at North High and become involved with school and community activities, she said.

“It felt like I had a mentor guiding me along my pathway to college,” said Guerra-Ceron, 20, an Iowa State University sophomore who is studying graphic design. “I always knew I wanted to go to college. By Degrees made it more seeable for my future. They helped relieve a lot of stress factors I was having at the time.”

Guerra-Ceron became involved with By Degrees during her ninth-grade year. The program helped her understand that taking part in school activities built life skills such as leadership, problem-solving, teamwork and time management and improved academic performance, she said.

At North, Guerra-Ceron participated in three sports, co-founded the Mental Health Club, was president of Latinos in Action and was a member of student government and National Honor Society.

By Degrees also helped Guerra-Ceron apply for scholarships and prepare for interviews. Guerra-Ceron is attending ISU on a full-ride scholarship.

High school students who are given the opportunity to participate in By Degrees, should do so, Guerra-Ceron said. “There are so many stories of students in the program who end up in places they never imagined themselves being in. This opportunity helps you grow as a person; grow academically; and connects you with many opportunities.”

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How a seed was planted about possibility of attending college

Champ-Pacifique Mukiza was in second grade when his class visited Central College in Pella on a field trip organized by the nonprofit By Degrees Foundation.

The experience was “magical,” said Mukiza, who was born in Tanzania after his family fled political violence in Burundi in the mid-2010s. “When we saw older kids with their backpacks walking across campus, I had this sense of overwhelming joy. … When we walked into the cafeteria for the first time, we all were like, ‘This is what college students eat? Wow!’”

After the visit, Mukiza and his classmates from Des Moines’ Findley Elementary School wrote a letter to their older selves about their impressions of the campus and their dreams. Mukiza, who was given the letter a couple years ago, wrote that he would attend Central when he graduated from high school.

“Thinking back, By Degrees planted the seed that I could go to college,” Mukiza said. “As a first-generation student, the idea of going to college was hard to imagine. But By Degrees showed me a possible path to make it happen.”

Mukiza, 19, is completing his freshman year at Grinnell College, where he is studying computer science. His tuition and room and board expenses are being paid for with scholarships he received from the college, Amazon and North High School, from which he graduated last spring.

By Degrees mentors helped Mukiza navigate applying for scholarships and prepare for interviews, he said. 

“My parents didn’t have that experience, so the burden of figuring all of that out essentially was on me,” he said. “I didn’t really know where to start. But because of By Degrees, I was given direction and a lot of help. They really help you to dream big.”

The program also pushed Mukiza to stay focused on doing well in high school so that he could qualify for scholarships and attend the post-secondary school of his choice.

“I don’t think I would have been as prepared for college as I was without By Degrees,” he said. “I can dream big about all the different things I want to do in life.”