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Blog | | Early Edge California

Bright Spots in Supporting Student Parents at Institutions of Higher Learning: Pasadena City College

This is the first blog in a three part blog series that spotlights bright spots among Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) that have worked to address the needs and challenges of student parents of infants and toddlers through innovative initiatives, as featured in our new policy brief, Supporting Student Parents and their Young Children in California’s Institutions of Higher Education.

In 2022, Pasadena City College (PCC) established a Family Resource Center (FRC), where parenting students receive extensive support that goes beyond course prioritization. The FRC has a dedicated staff consisting of a coordinator, two program assistants, and a success coach, all focused on ensuring that parenting students obtain access to direct services, resources, and guidance to achieve their educational goals. The FRC is the hub to campus resources for incoming and existing parenting students.

In addition to priority registration, academic counseling, and coaching, the FRC provides a study space with computer and printing access, and a designated play area for young infants and toddlers to engage while their parents study. The FRC also offers a comfortable private lactation room for students who are breastfeeding and a diapering station where al diapering supplies are provided. Parenting students have access to a children’s closet where students can both donate and take essential baby items such as clothing, diapers, wipes, formula, and shoes. Beyond being a support hub, the FRC actively engages in outreach initiatives across campus, collaborating with the basic needs department and child development center. Future programming for the FRC will include workshops, pop-up emergency child care, family-friendly events, celebrations for graduates, and the establishment of a student advisory board to guide its initiatives.

Marisol Jara-Garza is the Coordinator for the FRC, having prior roles such as a Child Development Program Specialist and Adjunct Faculty in Child Development, and has personal experience as a student parent. Her vision of the FRC is to build community among parenting students and find comfort in knowing they have a support system at PCC that will help them navigate the dual responsibilities of being a parent while simultaneously achieving their academic goals. She shares:

“The Family Resource Center has made it easier for them to feel supported as they balance higher education and parenting responsibilities. We have successfully connected parenting students with the Child Development Center, a lowing their young children to be enrolled in its programs. This support significantly propels them closer to achieving their educational goals. The Family Resource Center and parenting students are fostering a strong sense of community. It’s inspiring to see graduates return to the FRC, giving back by donating items and sharing their accomplishments while acknowledging the FRC as an integral part of their success.”

PCC has a child development center near campus that serves children of students, faculty, and the community and is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Read the policy brief

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