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Closing Out The Year in Community

As 2024 draws to a close, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the year as one of progress for student parents, both in terms of concrete policy action and of building the student parent community. With that in mind, we want to highlight a few exciting opportunities for connection:

  • You can find community with others in our SPARK LinkedIn group. This is our first “constellation,” and there will be many more coming soon that focus on geography, role, interest area, and identity. You can join by becoming a member of the SPARK Collaborative. Once you’re logged in, you’ll see the link to join on the Constellations page.


  • A new paid Skills and Training in Action Research (STAR) Fellowship has been posted! This is an opportunity for a current or recent student parent to join a project team working on important issues. This project focuses on how colleges use student data to connect students with safety net benefits. Read more and apply by January 15!


  • Generation Hope has extended early bird registration for HOPE 2025 until December 20th. Connect in-person with others doing the work and making good trouble in National Harbor, MD, in April. Learn more and register today!

Events and Deadlines

The holidays are a quiet time for events, so we’re looking forward to a series of conferences in the spring that will highlight student parent work in higher education, including:

  • DREAM 2025 Conference: The annual convening of the Achieving the Dream (ATD) Network will take place February 18-21 in Philadelphia, PA.

  • HOPE 2025 Conference: Generation Hope’s national conference will bring together student parents, direct service providers, higher education professionals, resource connectors, systems change experts, and policymakers from across the country to address structural barriers to student parents’ economic mobility and focus on opportunities to accelerate their success from April 9-11 in National Harbor, MD.

  • AERA 2025: The The American Education Research Association (AERA) will host its Annual Meeting, themed Research, Remedy, and Repair: Toward Just Education Renewal, in Denver, CO from April 23-27. Several presentations will focus on parenting students including, Lori D. Rhea's study entitled "Implementation of Title IX to Remedy Barriers Experienced by Parenting Postsecondary Students."

A handful of grant opportunities have open deadlines, including:

  • From Michelson 20MM: Spark Grants The Student Basic Needs funding cycle is open from December 2-16, 2024. Eligible organizations can receive grants of up to $25,000 for highly impactful initiatives that would not be possible if they needed to wait through a traditional grant decision timeline. An informational webinar, sample letter of interest, and sample application are available on the website.

  • From Jobs for the Future: JFF is excited to invite community and technical colleges to apply for $300,000 grants through Project ACCESS to expand and scale effective programs that connect learners to paid work-based learning and quality jobs! Apply by January 17, 2025.

  • Scholarship Opportunity: The ANSWER Scholarship provides college scholarships, mentoring, and professional development to moms in Mecklenburg and 11 surrounding counties in the Carolinas. Applications are accepted November 1-March 1.

Insights and Resources from the Field

From The Today’s Students Coalition: Elevate Your Voice January 2025 (training opportunity)

The Today’s Students Coalition is excited to share its next “Elevate Your Voice” for parenting students. Unleash the power of your story to impact change. They are hosting three enriching one-hour virtual workshops designed exclusively for parenting students. Discover the art of storytelling to create a lasting impact on education policy. This is your chance to translate your unique experiences into a compelling narrative that resonates with policymakers and influences change. The first session is on January 15th, so RSVP soon!

From Andrea Todd: Student-Parents’ Experiences of Personal and Academic Support in UK Higher Education: Barriers and Challenges to Equality of Opportunity and Policy and Practice Recommendations to Mitigate Them (journal article)

This paper discusses the findings of a study of students with parental responsibility (student-parents) in England and Scotland. Exploring participants’ experiences of pastoral and academic support during their university journey, the study was undertaken in the wake of both the UK’s Universities and Colleges Admissions Service’s (UCAS) new question inviting student-parents to self-identify when applying to university and the 2023 introduction of the Office for Students’ (OfS) Equality of Opportunity Risk Register(EORR) for institutions based in England.

From Scott Rawlinson: ‘Little Islands’: Challenges and Opportunities for Student Carers in Higher Education (journal article)

This article explores the higher education experience of student carers, defined here as carers of ill relatives, student parents, as well as sibling carers, via 10 semi-structured one-to-one interviews.

From Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession: Precedents for Law Student Parents (magazine)

The Center on the Legal Profession at the Harvard Law School published an issue of "The Practice" focused on parenting and caregiving in the legal profession. Articles discuss challenges faced by pregnant and caregiving law students, legal rights, sparking culture change, and the outlook for parenting law grads and features a piece written by SPARK Working Board Member Jessica Lee.

From Ascend at the Aspen Institute: Systemic, Measurable, and Sustainable Strategies for Student Parent Success (one-pager)

Drawing from a July 2024 convening of Postsecondary Leadership Circle Activation Fund (PLCAF) Partners and experts, this one-pager shares key tactics for engaging faculty as change agents for student-parent achievement.

From Ascend at the Aspen Institute: Beliefs Confirmed: Leaders Who Truly Care About Student Parent Success (blog)

This blog post elevates Ascend at the Aspen Institute’s Postsecondary Leadership Circle Activation Fund Midpoint Convening, where participants discussed ways to engage faculty in supporting student parents.

From Margaret Sallee, Danielle Lewis, and Sara Kieffer: Collapsing Boarders: How Online Education Shapes Student-Mothers’ Experiences in Higher Education (journal article)

In this article, the authors explore how 57 student-mothers in the United States navigated online education during and after the pandemic. Participants in this national, longitudinal study discussed the challenges they faced engaging in coursework while caring for their children who were at home with them.

From National Women’s Law Center: From Classroom Dreams to Caregiving Realities: The Child Care Challenge for Student Parents (blog)

Joshua Klein and Shrija Shrestha argue that student parents should not have to choose between their education and providing care in this blog post from the National Women’s Law Center.

Student Parents in the Media

From Diverse Education: Want to Make a Difference for Kids? Invest in Their Parents’ Education

In this opinion piece, Joshua Williams and Sara Goldrick-Rab highlight the intergenerational benefits of college education, and provide examples of programs and institutions advancing two-generation efforts to support parenting students.

From Santa Fe Reporter: Prep School for Parents

This news article describes the College Ready Series, a five-week workshop series for parents in the Santa Fe community without a degree who are interested in enrolling in a certificate or degree program at Santa Fe Community College.

From University Business: A Forgotten Minority: Why We Must Better Serve Student Parents

In this op-ed, Amber Angel shares her success story as a student parent and makes the case for better serving parenting students.

From The Triangle Tribune: Prioritize Parenting Students For a Stronger Economy and Brighter Future

In this opinion piece, Mike Muñoz shares his experience as a student parent and the impact of prioritizing parenting students in his role as superintendent-president of Long Beach City College.

Requests from Colleagues

Do You Identify as a Black Student Parent?

Nina Owolabi, a doctoral candidate at the University of Illinois, is recruiting for her dissertation study. She wants to understand the lived experiences of Black student parents who attend/ed community college during the ongoing pandemic. Participants will be asked to complete a brief survey, a 60-90-minute interview, a journal entry, and a follow-up interview. Participants can receive up to three $15 gift cards. Scan the QR Code on this flyer or contact Nina for more information.

Are you looking for ideas from across the field? Recruiting for a study? Seeking subjects to interview for a news article? Let us know and we’ll spread the word!

SPARK Collaborative Updates

We’re hiring! A new paid Skills and Training in Action Research (STAR) Fellowship has been posted. This is an opportunity for a current or recent student parent to join a project team focused on how colleges use student data to connect students with safety net benefits. Read more and apply!

Celebrations!

We are celebrating Dr. Heather King who recently defended her dissertation entitled, “Scylla vs Charybdis: The Student Parent Odyssey Through Higher Education.” Please join us in celebrating Dr. King!

Tidewater Community College in Virginia re-opened their on-campus child care center in January!

Ozarks Technical Community College’s Table Rock Campus is opening a new child care program in January thanks to a partnership with the Ozarks Regional YMCA and Skaggs Foundation.

What are you doing at your college? We’d love to elevate you in the newsletter! Email us at spark@studentparentaction.org!

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The Student-Parent Action through Research Knowledge (SPARK) Collaborative aims to collaboratively build evidence and make the case for policy change to support pregnant and parenting students so that they can meet their education and life goals. The SPARK Collaborative is stewarded by a working board with membership from the Urban Institute, The Pregnant Scholar, Child Trends, and Skills and Training in Action Research (STAR) Fellows.


Our goal is to share information from and with a broad audience. Inclusion in this newsletter does not imply endorsement by the SPARK Collaborative or any of its organizational partners.