Savi is an algorithm-backed web platform that helps teacher better manage and repay student loans. TIME magazine wrote a story about our work, describing us as a “TurboTax for student loans.” Through Savi, teachers can optimize monthly payments by taking advantage of programs like Income-Based Repayment, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and Teacher Loan Forgiveness that are overly complex and increasingly under-utilized. Savi automates the enrollment process in these federal programs, minimizing teachers’ monthly payments and maximizing total long-term federal forgiveness.
The average American teacher makes less than $50,000/year, and teachers are largely left on their own to identify federal programs and efficiently pay off their student loans. Currently, our nation’s educators teach in a system that does not value their work. The Brookings Institution argues that teacher loan forgiveness programs are effective tools in retaining teachers in public schools, and Savi provides the technology that ensures teachers meet the requirements for teacher loan forgiveness.
In the field of education, we seek to become the loan management tool that ensures the United States has a diverse, financially-stable teacher talent pipeline. Through a pilot with the National Education Association, the 3 million-member teachers’ union, Savi is saving teachers an average of $170/month and for qualifying borrowers, an estimated $30,000 in projected forgiveness.
We are also taking a regional approach to education, as we know that urban inequities exist in America’s public school systems. We received a grant from the Kresge Foundation to launch pilots in the Miami and Chicago this fall, partnering with Chicago Public Schools and Miami-Dade County Public Schools to promote diversity in their teacher networks by focusing on people of color & women - traditionally underserved borrowers.
The United States cannot develop its children until its teachers are well-respected, valued, and financially-stable. By providing teachers with an innovative technology, Savi handles the student loans and lets teachers focus on what matters most - the next generation of leaders, dreamers, and doers.