Texas school district gives each kindergarten student $50 to start college fund

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The Lancaster Independent School District, which recently was awarded $50,000 for winning the HEB Excellence in Education Award, has given each of its 500 kindergartners $50 to open 529 college savings accounts, WFAA reported.

The school district partnered with United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and is participating in the Dollars for College Program, the television station reported.

"Kids with college savings accounts are three times more likely to go to college, and four times more likely to graduate," Mark Hamm, of United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, told WFAA.

Lancaster is the first school district in Texas to place seed money for each student enrolled in the program.

"We want them to know that they are going to college and that we are helping them achieve that goal," Lancaster Assistant Superintendent Pamela Brown told the television station.

School officials said their goal is for each student to have $500 in their accounts within two years, WFAA reported.