In order to attend her 8 a.m. class at Northampton Community College in Tannersville, Pennsylvania, Joeann Gerard must take the 7:30 a.m. bus with her four-year-old daughter, Jelena. Upon arrival, Joeann, a 38-year-old business management student, drops Jelena off at Northampton's Hannig Family Children's Center, a childcare facility with an art-based curriculum that fosters cognitive, physical, and social/emotional growth, and creative expression for children from six weeks old to kindergarten entry.
Classes take up most of Joeann Gerard's afternoon. Whatever free time she does have is spent on homework. If Gerard's not studying, it's because she's clocking in on her four-hour cashier shift at Weiss grocery store, where she works part-time. As a full-time student and single mom of two daughters, Gerard's weekly paycheck, which never exceeds $180, is immediately eaten up by rent, tuition, school supplies, groceries, household necessities, and utilities.
"You can't tell your kids, 'Unfortunately, we don't have food to eat today because I have to pay for your childcare,'" Gerard says.
[For more on this story by NATALIE PATTILLO, go to https://psmag.com/education/de...nder-student-parents]
Comments (0)