{"id":195415,"date":"2024-04-14T08:00:38","date_gmt":"2024-04-14T18:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=195415"},"modified":"2024-04-13T00:44:15","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T10:44:15","slug":"single-parent-windward-cc-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/04\/14\/single-parent-windward-cc-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Single parents find support to succeed at Windward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> program"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_91760\"  width=\"620\" height=\"349\"  data-origwidth=\"620\" data-origheight=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/L93M5TLUB2M?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"Single parents find support to succeed at Windward CC program\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/windward.hawaii.edu\/services-for-students\/hanaiaulu-childcare-center\/\">H\u0101naiaulu<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/windward.hawaii.edu\/\">Windward Community College<\/a>\u2019s Hawaiian immersion childcare center, which is free for qualified students, was a saving grace for Alana Grace, a single mother of four.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_195491\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-195491\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/windward-hanaiaulu-grace-1-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Three family members sitting on the couch\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-195491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/windward-hanaiaulu-grace-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/windward-hanaiaulu-grace-1-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/windward-hanaiaulu-grace-1.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-195491\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alana Grace with sons Iokepa and Ioane<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;If they didn&#8217;t have a childcare center, I wouldn\u2019t have come back to school, I would have still been out and I wouldn\u2019t have been able to finish my <abbr>AA<\/abbr> degree,&rdquo; Grace said.<\/p>\n<p>It took Grace 15 years to earn her associate\u2019s degree in liberal arts in 2021, but H\u0101naiaulu gave her the boost she needed after the birth of her fourth child Ioane in 2020. Now, she works as an office assistant there, and is on track to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree in Hawaiian Indigenous health and healing from the University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>&#8211;West <span aria-label=\"Oahu\">O&#699;ahu<\/span> in May.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Learn more: <a href=\"https:\/\/windward.hawaii.edu\/services-for-students\/hanaiaulu-childcare-center\/\">H\u0101naiaulu\u2019s services, eligibility requirements and application information<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Thanks to being part of a nationwide initiative that led to the 2024 report <a href=\"https:\/\/www.collegetransition.org\/career-pathways\/publications\/college-success-for-single-mothers\/\">Data into Action: Fostering College Success for Single Mothers and Parenting Students<\/a>, single parents at Windward <abbr title=\"Community College\">CC<\/abbr> have even more support services. The student parent lounge&#8212;a safe space for parents to study that welcomes children&#8212;opened in 2022.<\/p>\n<h2>4 in 5 single mothers below poverty level<\/h2>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.auw.org\/sites\/default\/files\/pictures\/2020ALICEReport_HI_FINAL.pdf\">2020 Aloha United Way report<\/a>, 80% of single female headed households were below the poverty level\u2014highlighting the severity of the problem in <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_195492\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-195492\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/windward-hanaiaulu-grace-2-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Mother playing with child\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-195492\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/windward-hanaiaulu-grace-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/windward-hanaiaulu-grace-2-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/windward-hanaiaulu-grace-2.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-195492\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span aria-label=\"Nuukia\">Nu&#699;ukia<\/span> Kama and Tasha Amaral in H\u0101naiaulu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;We realized that education being the largest vehicle for economic opportunity and mobility in our society that we had to figure out how to serve single mothers,&rdquo; said Windward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> Chancellor Ardis Eschenberg, who is also a single mother.<\/p>\n<p>That year, <a href=\"https:\/\/windward.hawaii.edu\/\">Windward Community College<\/a> was one of eight community colleges nationwide <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/08\/05\/windward-college-success-for-single-mothers\/\">selected through a competitive application process<\/a> to participate in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.collegetransition.org\/career-pathways\/featured-projects\/single-mothers-success\/\">College Success for Single Mothers<\/a>. Funded by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecmcfoundation.org\/\"><abbr>ECMC<\/abbr> Foundation<\/a> and led by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.collegetransition.org\/\">National College Transition Network<\/a>, the goal of the three-year project was to identify the needs of single mother students and develop a plan to expand key practices and services to enhance their success.<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;You can\u2019t wait&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>&#8230;school is possible. Even when you have kids, it might be different, but it&#8217;s possible.<br \/>&#8212;Puanani Kama<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>As part of College Success for Single Mothers and Parenting Students, Windward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> has developed a <a href=\"https:\/\/windward.hawaii.edu\/student-parent-story-dashboard\/\">student parent dashboard<\/a> based on survey data and other sources to identify students each semester and provide the support that student parents need to meet their goals, such as scholarships for childcare. And it has added a variety of parenting resources to the campus\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/student-basic-needs\/resources\/windward\/\">student basic needs website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You can&#8217;t wait. Every day that we wait is the day that that mother and that child are in poverty&#8212;needlessly,&rdquo; said Eschenberg. &ldquo;So the whole time we were developing the action plan, we were implementing the action plan. By the time it was done, we pretty much had all of the pieces there and we were formalizing them.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>H\u0101naiaulu Director Puanani Kama wants prospective students to know free childcare is available for parents who qualify, and Windward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> provides many other services to support them in areas such as financial aid and career development.<\/p>\n<p>Kama said, &ldquo;I would want them to know that school is possible. Even when you have kids, it might be different, but it&#8217;s possible. And if you come to Windward, we make it even easier.&rdquo;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Windward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> student parent lounge is a safe place for studying with children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,12],"tags":[1155,71,56,66,1626],"class_list":["post-195415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-video","tag-child-care","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-video-2","tag-windward-community-college","tag-women-of-uh","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195415"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":195509,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195415\/revisions\/195509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}