Key support for CT student mothers going back to college

Those adorable little kids waving goodbye at the bus stop aren’t the only ones going back to school this fall. Increasingly, their moms are heading back too, working toward a college degree that will mean a brighter future for their families.

About 20% of U.S. undergraduate students are raising children while enrolled in college. Earlier this year, in partnership with the Institute for Women’s Policy Research , the Aurora Women and Girls Foundation published Beyond Homework: Supports Needed for Student Mothers, which revealed sobering statistics about the challenges facing this hard-working population.

One-third of Black female college students (and 20% of Hispanic and white female undergrads) are mothers. The majority (71%) of student mothers take out loans to attend college — a number that rises to 82% for Black student mothers. And in Connecticut, the average amount of student loans per borrower is $35,931.

This financial burden is in addition to other challenges facing student mothers, including juggling work and studies while covering the costs of housing, food, transportation, and child care. Small wonder that only 52% of students age 25 or older return to college for a second year. Furthermore, Connecticut graduation rates reveal racial disparities, with only 20% of Black students and 23% of Hispanic students completing two-year associates degrees within six years. The result is a double whammy: many students are saddled with student debt and are also unable to compete for the higher-salary jobs that require a college degree.

The Aurora Women and Girls Foundation has deep expertise in best practices for programs supporting women students: intensive advising and mentoring; career exploration and connection to role models and mentors; links to academic and career counseling resources on campus; resources for wrap-around services and basic needs like food, housing, transportation, and child care.

Since 2016, Aurora has been funding programs at area colleges that address racial education disparities, student debt, and persistence and retention for adult women learners in Greater Hartford. These college success programs offer strategies and best practices to ensure that more women students and more student mothers reach graduation.

We are very proud of our long-standing partnerships with the YW Career Women programs at CT State Capital and Manchester; the LEAD program at the University of Hartford; the Women in Transition program at Charter Oak State College; and the Barriers Can’t Stop Us: Building Immigrant Women’s Success program at the Hartford Public Library.

New this year: the “Dreaming with Kids” program partnership with CT State Manchester, which focuses on the particular needs of student mothers, offering guidance on financial aid; connections to support services like the on-campus food pantry, which will be expanded to include diapers, formula and other baby needs; and opportunities to network with other student mothers.

Aurora is proud to support innovative programs like these that address the needs identified by our research, because supporting student mothers in their pursuit of higher education sets women up for career success and economic mobility. The impact goes far beyond the women themselves, as their children are also more likely to pursue higher education and to grow up with opportunities to thrive.

Since its founding in 2000, the Aurora Women and Girls Foundation has been a thought leader and on-the-ground partner for nonprofits serving women and girls, applying a data-driven approach to building a better future for women and girls in Greater Hartford.

Jennifer B. Steadman, Ph.D. is Executive Director of the Aurora Women and Girls Foundation.