Education and Career Advancement

Not Built with Them in Mind: It’s Time to Center Black Single Mothers in Higher Ed
Not Built with Them in Mind: It’s Time to Center Black Single Mothers in Higher Ed

Not Built with Them in Mind: It’s Time to Center Black Single Mothers in Higher Ed

“College campuses were not designed with student parents in mind.” This is now a common refrain echoed among student parent success advocates. It must be acknowledged, too, that the U.S. system of higher education was not designed for women, Black people, anyone parenting while in college, or those who experience life at the intersections of all three of these identities.

By Chaunté White and Felicity Hector Bruder|2025-01-28T22:41:40-05:00April 6, 2022|Education and Career Advancement|0 Comments

Supporting Student Parent Recovery through State Policy
Supporting Student Parent Recovery through State Policy

Supporting Student Parent Recovery through State Policy

Higher education is essential to accessing high-demand jobs with family-supporting wages and improving family financial well-being. This was true before the COVID-19 pandemic and is especially true now as the nation continues the process of recovering from one of the worst public health, economic, and social crises in modern U.S. history. Early evidence suggests that the pandemic exacerbated barriers faced by student parents, affecting their college plans.

By Chaunté White and Lindsey Reichlin Cruse|2025-01-28T22:41:40-05:00November 30, 2021|Education and Career Advancement|0 Comments

Child Care Access Means Parents in School Reauthorization Act

Read the Letter September 13, 2021 [...]

By IWPR|2025-01-28T22:41:40-05:00September 20, 2021|Education and Career Advancement|0 Comments

“Nevertheless, I Persisted and Graduated”: A Single Mom’s Journey
“Nevertheless, I Persisted and Graduated”: A Single Mom’s Journey

“Nevertheless, I Persisted and Graduated”: A Single Mom’s Journey

This guest blog post is authored by Zoe Erickson in collaboration with IWPR’s Student Parent Success Initiative. Zoe graduated with her Bachelor's degree in June 2020 from Portland State University and is expected to obtain her Master of Public Policy at Portland State University by June 2022. Zoe is also a recipient of services of the Resource Center for Students with Children program at Portland State University.

By Zoe Erickson|2025-01-28T22:41:41-05:00August 24, 2021|Education and Career Advancement|0 Comments

Leveraging Head Start for Student Parent Families
Leveraging Head Start for Student Parent Families

Leveraging Head Start for Student Parent Families

Student parents face significant challenges that can limit their ability to enter, persist in, and graduate from college. Innovative partnerships between Head Start and the higher education system is a promising strategy to bring together essential supports to meet the needs of student parents and set them up for long-term success. This briefing paper explores what this partnership might look like, and how federal and state policy could encourage greater support for student parents and their families through Head Start.

By Lindsey Reichlin Cruse and Tessa Holtzman|2025-01-28T22:41:41-05:00August 16, 2021|Education and Career Advancement|0 Comments

“The Pandemic Was Not Going to Stop Me”: A Student Parent Reflects on Struggles, and Success, during COVID
“The Pandemic Was Not Going to Stop Me”: A Student Parent Reflects on Struggles, and Success, during COVID

“The Pandemic Was Not Going to Stop Me”: A Student Parent Reflects on Struggles, and Success, during COVID

This guest blog post is authored by Jessica Vera, a [...]

By Jessica Vera|2025-01-28T22:41:41-05:00July 30, 2021|Education and Career Advancement|0 Comments

Re-Engaging Student Parents to Achieve Attainment and Equity Goals
Re-Engaging Student Parents to Achieve Attainment and Equity Goals

Re-Engaging Student Parents to Achieve Attainment and Equity Goals

In recent years, the goal of 60 percent of adults holding a postsecondary degree has been set as a key benchmark for the United States to build a skilled workforce and remain economically competitive. Engaging adults with some college credit but no degree is critical to reaching this goal.

By Catherine Hensly, Chaunté White and Lindsey Reichlin Cruse|2025-01-28T22:41:41-05:00July 8, 2021|Education and Career Advancement|0 Comments

Breaking Barriers, Increasing Visibility for Students with Children
Breaking Barriers, Increasing Visibility for Students with Children

Breaking Barriers, Increasing Visibility for Students with Children

This guest blog post is authored by Ashlee Hernandez, a [...]

By Ashlee Hernandez|2025-01-28T22:41:41-05:00June 17, 2021|Education and Career Advancement|0 Comments

Head Start-College Partnership to Promote Student Parent Family Success: A Roadmap to Guide Collaboration
Head Start-College Partnership to Promote Student Parent Family Success: A Roadmap to Guide Collaboration

Head Start-College Partnership to Promote Student Parent Family Success: A Roadmap to Guide Collaboration

Collaboration between colleges and Head Start programs holds promise for promoting the educational and economic well-being of college students with young children. Roughly one million undergraduate student parents with children under age six are income-eligible for Head Start, and their ability to complete their educational programs is linked to their access to affordable sources of early care and learning for their children. [...]

By IWPR|2025-01-28T22:41:42-05:00June 8, 2021|Education and Career Advancement|0 Comments

The Student Parent Equity Imperative: Guidance for the Biden-Harris Administration
The Student Parent Equity Imperative: Guidance for the Biden-Harris Administration

The Student Parent Equity Imperative: Guidance for the Biden-Harris Administration

As the Biden-Harris administration seeks to hasten the country’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, reforming the U.S. higher education system to ensure equitable access and attainment for all adults is more important than ever. The pandemic has disproportionately increased the caregiving, financial, and emotional burdens on student parents and their families—most of whom are mothers, students of color, adult and working learners, students with low incomes, and first-generation students [...]

By Lindsey Reichlin Cruse and Chaunté White|2025-01-28T22:41:42-05:00April 13, 2021|Education and Career Advancement|0 Comments

Not Built with Them in Mind: It’s Time to Center Black Single Mothers in Higher Ed

Supporting Student Parent Recovery through State Policy

“Nevertheless, I Persisted and Graduated”: A Single Mom’s Journey

Leveraging Head Start for Student Parent Families

“The Pandemic Was Not Going to Stop Me”: A Student Parent Reflects on Struggles, and Success, during COVID

Re-Engaging Student Parents to Achieve Attainment and Equity Goals

Breaking Barriers, Increasing Visibility for Students with Children

Head Start-College Partnership to Promote Student Parent Family Success: A Roadmap to Guide Collaboration

The Student Parent Equity Imperative: Guidance for the Biden-Harris Administration

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