Winter 2020/2021

Student Parent Success Initiative Newsletter

IWPR RESEARCH, RESOURCES, AND UPDATES

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Chaunté White, Senior Research Associate for the Student Parent Success Initiative (SPSI)! Chaunté will contribute to research and policy analysis focused on higher education access, success, and educational attainment for students with children. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Houston’s Higher Education Leadership Policy Studies Program and previously served as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies in the College of Education at the University of Houston. Read Chaunté's full bio HERE and feel free to connect with her on Twitter at @ChaunteWhite.

Congress Must Double Down on Pandemic Relief for Students Parents

at Community Colleges

Research Associate Susana Contreras-Mendez shares insight into how the pandemic is threatening student parent progress towards college completion during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the need to provide additional

supports for community college student parents to help them cope with a lack of access to educational technology, child care center closures or reduced hours, job losses, and the ongoing health crisis. To help student parents avoid pandemic-related educational interruptions, this piece urges policymakers to take action to support student parents at community colleges.

Read the Post

Catch up on the Student Parent Success Initiative's latest releases

Build(ing) the Future: Bold Policies for a Gender-Equitable Recovery | November 2020
Understanding the Student Parent Experience: The Need for Improved Data Collection on Parent Status in Higher Education. | October 2020
Head Start-College Partnership to Promote Student Parent Family Success: A Roadmap to Guide Collaboration IWPR needs your input: Let us know how we can improve this guide for higher education leaders and practitioners by participate in our feedback survey HERE. | September 2020
Prioritizing Student Parents in COVID-19 Response and Relief | July 2020

Moving the Needle: Where (and How!) Single Moms Are Thriving

IWPR teamed up with ECMC Foundation and Roadtrip Nation to host one of six “Together We Thrive” digital events. The event highlighted how institutions, states, and national policymakers can take action to promote equity and success for single mother college students. Find the event recording HERE and the presentation slides HERE. Click HERE to view more "Together We Thrive" partner events. | November 2020

Centering Student Parent Families in COVID-19 Response

IWPR’s Student Parent Success Initiative Study Director, Lindsey Reichlin Cruse, discusses the important of focusing on student parents during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure their families’ well-being and enable them to continue to make progress on their educational and professional goals. The post includes five action items to support student parents with low incomes and child care needs and expand funding for critical higher education infrastructure. | September 2020

A Conversation on Building Sustainable Parent Student Support

The Ohio State University’s ACCESS Collaborative Community Chat with Portia Polk, Director of Learning and Advocacy at Generation Hope, and Lindsey Reichlin Cruse, Study Director at Institute for Women's Policy Research, shared post-pandemic strategies for building sustainable parenting student support programs. | October 2020

OTHER STUDENT PARENT RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS

Higher Education Can Support Parenting Students and Their Children with Accessible, Equitable Services

This new brief from Child Trends examines young student parents ages 18 to 24: who they are, what types of postsecondary institutions they attend, and how those schools support them with on-campus child care, employment opportunities, flexible schedules, and academic/career counseling services. | January 2021

Ascend at the Aspen Institute and The Jed Foundation Announce Partnership To Develop a Mental Health Framework Focused on Students who are Parents

Ascend at the Aspen Institute and The Jed Foundation are building a framework to support student parents' mental health. This framework will both address the need to improve mental health supports on campus and share clear guidance to postsecondary mental health providers. Download The Mental Health Challenges Experienced by Student Parents HERE. | December 2020

Child Care Survey to Address Campus Caregiving Needs; Everyone encouraged to participate

On behalf of the Office of the Provost, in partnership with the Center for Urban Studies, Wayne State University’s Daycare Implementation Committee sent out a survey to every Wayne State email address to inform and facilitate planning for child care resources, and help guide priorities and future projects to support the caregiving needs of the Wayne State community. | September 2020

An Incredible Return on Investment: Why We Invest in the Success of Single Mothers in Higher Education

Rosario Torres, ECMC Foundation program officer for Career Readiness, outlines the work being done by grantee partners to support the success of single mothers in higher education. | November 2020

Building a Packet for Success

Amber Angel, Program Coordinator for LA Valley College Family Resource Center and Parent Advisor for Ascend at the Aspen Institute, shared her journey and experience in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and how she has been able to build her own “packet for success.” | October 2020

Child Care Task Force Final Report Recommendations

The Child Care Task Force at Iowa State University developed a set of short-term and long-term recommendations to address the lack of high-quality, affordable child care available to students, staff, and faculty. | October 2020

Driving Home Costs Beyond Tuition A New Look at Older Students’ Challenges Affording Housing

This report by Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality examines challenges faced by older students to college completion. It finds institution-reported costs beyond tuition data inaccurately reflect single parent students’ spending. Single student parent spending patterns suggest high individual cost burdens for older students. | July 2020

Vulnerable Students: Creating the Covid-Era Safety Net

[Restricted Access] This Chronicle of Higher Education report explores what colleges are doing to support the students who have been most affected by the pandemic. | July 2020

Strategies and Innovations that Support Student Parents

Ascend at the Aspen Institute released seven briefs identifying barriers that make it difficult for parents to complete their studies to the best of their abilities and highlighting solutions that guide parents to achieve their postsecondary goals. | July 2020

POLICY UPDATES

Oregon SB 564 “Relating to student demographic data at post-secondary institutions of education”

A bill which would require the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission to design a question allowing students to identify whether they are a parent or person acting as parent or legal guardian will be introduced to the state legislature during Oregon’s upcoming 2021 Regular Session. The question about students’ parent status would be placed on one or more forms used on annual basis to collect demographic information by public post-secondary institutions of education. | 2021 Regular Session

Child Care Access Means Parents in School Program (CCAMPIS) New Grantees

The U.S. Department of Education’s CCAMPIS program supports the participation of low-income parents in postsecondary education through the provision of campus-based child care services. The department has announced 288 new CCAMPIS grantees with over $45.4 million in funding. Funds are used to support or establish campus-based child care programs primarily serving the needs of low-income students. | October 2020

Higher Learning Advocates’ Letter to Congress

Higher Learning Advocates and 46 partner organizations sent a Letter to Congress urging them to provide more supports for student parents, particularly in the face of the pandemic. The letter called for increased funding and flexibility for the federal Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program, addressing widespread food insecurity among student parent families, and expanding broadband connectivity for student parents and their children. | September 2020

STUDENT PARENT NEWS AND EVENTS

Upcoming Events

Achieving the Dream’s 2021 DREAM Conference, February 16-19, 2021 (virtual)
2021 National Coalition of Campus Children’s Centers (N4C) Conference, March 15-19, 2021 (virtual)
2021 Virtual National Student Parent Support Symposium, May 19-20, 2021

Past Events

Achieving the Dream’s Student Parent Summit

This half day virtual conference explored the experience of student parents pursuing postsecondary credentials and shared practical strategies colleges can implement to better serve these students during the pandemic and beyond.

Achieving the Dream’s Announces Community College Women Succeed Advisory Group

This advisory group will work to expand on Achieving the Dream’s existing work to promote access and equity for women and student parents in community colleges. The advisory committee is made up of 18 leaders from across the country, including IWPR’s Lindsey Reichlin Cruse, who are developing innovative supports, policies, and programs; researching effective practices; and creating and disseminating resources to increase success for women students and student parents in community college.

A Single Mom's Story: Together We Thrive

A new documentary produced by Roadtrip Nation follows three single mothers as they explore how to find meaningful careers and navigate postsecondary success by traveling across the country to talk with other single mothers who have found fulfilling work as microbiologists, professors, authors, artists, and more. “A Single Mom’s Story” shows how single moms can and should be empowered to seek out work that means something to them and their communities. Their stories and those of the inspiring people they meet are proof single mothers can accomplish anything they set their minds to.

The Ohio State University’s ACCESS Collaborative Community Chats

Invisible Barriers to Persistence for Latina Student Mothers | November 2020
What If Mom Went Back to School? The Effects for Both Generations When Mothers Return to School | September 2020
A COVID-19 Responsive Discussion | August 2020

Aspen Parent Powered Solutions Fund Awardees

Ascend at the Aspen Institute shared the first student parent-led fund dedicated to advancing the work of organizations and initiatives that support student parents’ postsecondary success. Awardees: BeyondHome; Briya Public Charter School’s; Community College of Aurora; Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee; Raise the Barr; and Project Self-Sufficiency. | October 20

STUDENT PARENTS IN THE NEWS

Student Parents and COVID-19

‘It was just crazy.’ Ky. student parents and employees juggle education along with their kids. | Lexington Herald Leader | January 1, 2021
She has ‘the heart of a nurse,’ but can she overcome obstacles to her degree? Will managing child care, classes and Covid lead to triumph — or disappointment? | The Hechinger Report | December 24, 2020
How Single Parents Are Making It Work During The Pandemic | WBUR | November 16, 2020
How Two Child-Care Centers Put Competition Aside and Created a Partnership During COVID-19 | Education Week | November 1, 2020
Left out: How the federal COVID-19 formula hurt some of Wisconsin’s most vulnerable college students | Wisconsin State Journal | October 25, 2020
Student parents balance college, homeschooling | OSU-The Lantern | October 14, 2020
‘It’s a lot to juggle’: College students with children are overwhelmed this school year | The Washington Post | September 28, 2020
These Families Feel Forgotten as N.Y.C. Pushes to Open Schools | The New York Times | September 21, 2020
Opinion: ‘Colleges should not abandon student parents to fend for themselves’ | The Hechinger Report | September 14, 2020
Life was already challenging for student parents; COVID-19 made it much more difficult | Deseret News | Sep 19, 2020
Ohio State University’s Access Collaborative Creates A 2Gen Solutions to Help Student Parents Cope with COVID-19 Challenges | Ascend at the Aspen Institute | August 10, 2020
‘It’s not just double duty, it’s triple duty’: Student-parents prepare to juggle college, work and childcare this fall | Market Watch | August 4, 2020
Office of Campus Child Care and Family Resources offers pandemic resources to help UW–Madison families | UW-Madison | n.d.

Supporting Student Parent Success

Early childhood studies helps students, care providers | The Ranger | November 23, 2020
Single Moms in Maryland Strive to Overcome Challenges | Associated Press | November 13, 2020
Pilot program brings social services assistance to seven Missouri college campuses | KTTN News | November 13, 2020
Student housing is scarce for college students who have kids | The Conversation | October 8, 2020
Opinion: Why Black student parents are at the epicenter of the student debt crisis — and what we can do about it | The Hechinger Report | September 16, 2020
Guide Outlines Benefits of Institutional Collaboration with Head Start | Diverse Issues in Higher Ed | September 14, 2020
On the journey to get ahead, Scholar House offers a hand | soapbox Cincinnati | July 14, 2020

Expansion of Child Care Access for Student Parents

Department of Social Services announces second round for CARES Act grant proposals to expand child care services on college campuses
Hawkeye foundation receives $10,000 grant to provide childcare scholarships to low-income students | Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier | October 18, 2020
The Crittenton Center receives a 2021 Core Grant | Siouxland News | October 12, 2020
SUU opens Center for Hope on-campus child care facility in repurposed residence of president | St. George News | September 18, 2020
CSU families have priority at new Sunshine House child care location | Colorado State University | September 8, 2020

About the Student Parent Success initiative

The Student Parent Success Initiative (SPSI), a project of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, conducts research and analysis to improve supports and services for student parents and promote their success in postsecondary education. SPSI serves to initiate new research, raise awareness on the need for student parent supports, and foster communication and collaboration among advocates, policymakers, educators, and practitioners. Contact us at [email protected].

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