It’s a twist on a spring tradition of high school graduates getting gift certificates and cash from relatives with their diplomas. But now it’s the state giving the money and it’s going to kids who are more than a decade from crossing the graduation stage. Oregon kindergartners, and their parents, are getting valuable new diplomas to celebrate an early milestone.
Oregon’s Kinder Grad program is a part of Embark, formerly known as the Oregon College Savings Plan. The program has long helped families build a nest egg for a student’s college or other post-high school plans.
Oregon Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner announced the new kindergarten “diplomas,” signed by Steiner and Oregon Department of Education director Charlene Williams, in a video. The state is sweetening the deal with a $100 contribution when a family opens up an Embark account…