Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and Children First Fund (CFF), CPS’ Foundation, announced a new partnership between Lee Elementary and Cabrera Capital Markets to strengthen the financial literacy and planning skills of Lee students and their families. CPS CEO Pedro Martinez joined Illinois State Treasurer Michael W. Frerichs and Cabrera Capital Markets Founder and CEO – and CPS alumnus – Martin Cabrera, Jr. and the firm’s president, and fellow CPS alumnus, Robert Aguilar, to observe a classroom budgeting lesson for Lee Elementary sixth graders as they celebrated the collaborative effort.  Beginning with a three-year commitment, this partnership will support educational programming for students and families, a full-time community engagement and financial education coordinator at Lee Elementary, and provide supplementary funding for Lee students’ 529 college savings accounts. Starting with the school’s current population of nearly 700 students, the partnership makes available incentives of $100 in initial funding for students who create qualifying 529 college savings accounts. In addition, the partnership will allocate funds to create brokerage accounts for each grade level at Lee Elementary, starting with an investment of $20,000 per grade. Classes at Lee will then invest these funds, gaining real world investment experience. A share of the gains accrued in these accounts will get distributed to students’ individual 529 accounts upon graduation from eighth grade, while the original investment principle will be reinvested by subsequent classes at Lee.  Learn more about the partnership between Lee and Cabrera Capital on the Lee Elementary School’s website, and find more information about other School Partnership Program opportunities facilitated by the Children First Fund at childrenfirstfund.org/school-partnership-program/.