Student parents are a vital yet often overlooked population in our higher education systems. Generation Hope found that nationally, 40% of parenting students experience isolation and disconnection from their college community, while 20% of parenting students feel unwelcome on campus. While these statistics highlight the challenges faced by student parents, more targeted information is needed to improve support in California.
Recognizing the need, EdTrust-West conducted their “Sense of Belonging” survey, which provided deeper insights into the student-parent experience throughout the California State University (CSU) system. The findings revealed important trends in the perceived sense of belonging on CSU campuses and the level of support students experience.
Join us on December 12, 2024, as we dive into the key findings and discuss actionable strategies to foster a more inclusive and supportive environment for pregnant an parenting students in the CSU system. Designed for practitioners, administrators, and advocates, the webinar will provide data-driven insights and practical solutions to better serve students in California.
Featuring:
Isaac Alferos The Education Trust-West, Research and Data Analyst
Isaac Alferos (he/they) is a Research and Data Analyst at EdTrust-West, focusing on expanding college access and success for California’s students of color. Alferos uses his experience as a researcher, organizer, and a child of a parenting student to inform his commitment to expanding college access and support for parenting students across the state.
Melissa Valenzuela-Stookey The Education Trust-West, Director of P-16 Research
As the Director of P-16 Research, Melissa Valenzuela-Stookey leads the design and execution of EdTrust-West’s equity-focused research agenda, spanning from transitional kindergarten through postsecondary completion. Valenzuela-Stookey is a proud graduate of the Miami-Dade County public school system and has contributed to research, policy design, and evaluation in roles at the New York City Department of Education and Advance Illinois. Her work has a particular focus on equitable school finance reform and strengthening transitions between early learning systems, public schools, and higher education institutions.
Maya Valree The Education Trust-West, Senior Policy Analyst
Maya Valree is a Senior Policy Analyst at EdTrust-West, where she leads initiatives to support the academic success and well-being of over 400,000 student parents in California and co-leads The California Alliance for Student Parent Success. Before joining the EdTrust-West team, Valree gained extensive experience in TK-12 and higher education, serving as an English teacher in South Los Angeles, a graduate student coordinator for Cal Poly’s Students with Dependents program, and a research assistant on Dr. Tina Cheuk’s #StudentParentJoy campaign.
Higher education is becoming an increasingly precarious economic environment. In light of this, the Michelson 20MM Foundation is committed to supporting organizations and institutions working to help students meet their basic needs. In this context, basic needs are defined as a student’s ability to adequately satisfy their food, housing, mental health, sleep, child/dependent care, hygiene, and transportation requirements. If students can meet their basic needs, persistence and graduation rates increase, providing a positive impact on generations to come.
In support of these efforts, the Student Basic Needs Michelson Spark Grants funding cycle will run from December 2, 2024, to December 16, 2024. We are seeking to fund macro-level projects that support systems-level strategies, create impact at scale, and inform public policy.
Focus Areas
We are interested in supporting projects that advance:
Systemic approaches and actionable strategies for higher education systems to implement state and/or federal policies addressing student housing and food insecurity. This could include:
Implementing and integrating policies, such as AB 2033 (electronic benefit transfer on Campus), AB 132 (Basic Needs Coordinators on Campus), and AB 396 (CalFresh Educational programs);
Addressing the gap in CalFresh enrollment among students who meet eligibility requirements; and
Fulfilling state mandates by strengthening campus capacities and providing Basic Needs Coordinators with technical assistance training.
Best practices to support students who are ineligible for public benefits, state aid, and federal aid. Students ineligible for state or federal aid can include but are not limited to, undocumented students, DACAmented/Dreamers, and/or international students. Efforts may include:
Researching projects that examine the effects of current policies on ineligible students’ access to basic needs and education;
Implementing ally training programs for academic and financial advisors, faculty, and staff to understand the specific limitations and opportunities for ineligible students. Equipping them to advocate on behalf of students within institutional systems and to guide students in accessing basic needs resources;
Forming committees or task forces to review and recommend changes to institutional policies that hinder ineligible students’ access to resources. These efforts would focus on areas such as tuition equity, scholarship eligibility, and access to campus facilities; and
Providing training to students on policy advocacy, leadership skills, and community organizing as a way to promote student power and voice.
Innovative approaches and promising practices to promote positive academic outcomes for students receiving direct financial assistance aimed at mitigating student basic needs concerns. This could include research, evaluation, or efforts that scale the impact of public benefits assistance, tax credits for eligible students, universal basic income, guaranteed income programs, and approaches to liquidating institutional Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) dollars. Efforts may include:
Impacting the outcomes of guaranteed income programs for specific student populations;
Using Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) dollars and academic outcomes for student parents; and
Providing financial literacy workshops to educate students about tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the California Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit that can help them maximize their financial resources.
Funding Cycle Details
The Spark Grants Program is available to United States-based nonprofits. The program provides a just-in-time grantmaking process to fill urgent needs for higher education organizations that are aligned with our focus areas. For this cycle, we are focusing our impact on organizations doing work in California—organizations whose work does not impact California will be ineligible.
We will award grants up to $25,000 to nonprofits and educational institutions whose efforts include one of the focus areas outlined below. We are particularly interested in innovative efforts that catalyze systemic solutions in support of the basic needs of college students. This could include, but is not limited to, housing, food insecurity, physical/mental health, and childcare.
During this funding cycle, we will not pursue initiatives that result in direct assistance to students, such as emergency student aid, laptops and hotspots for remote learning, or food and housing vouchers. While we realize there is a tremendous need among students for direct support, at this time we are leveraging our funding to effect broader systemic change.
Proposals where Michelson Spark Grant funds are part of a larger overall project with multiple funding streams are welcomed.
Join Us to Learn More
Join Senior Program Manager Dr. Queena Hoang and Director of Programs and Operations Ryan Erickson-Kulas on November 20, 2024, for an informational webinar. During it, they will provide an in-depth overview of the Spark Grants program, highlight past awardees, and share detailed updates on the student basic needs funding cycle.
Students of color at four-year institutions often feel less of a sense of belonging on campus. In California, the K-12 Healthy Kids Survey found Black students are more than twice as likely as white peers to report low school connectedness. Additionally, Black parents make up a disproportionate share of the parenting student population, highlighting the urgent need to address their experiences and sense of belonging.
The webinar explored the sense of belonging among parenting students, examining whether they feel integral parts of their campus identity. Research from EdTrust West emphasized the benefits of fostering belonging, including how being a parent strengthens students. Parenting students reported better time management, self-determination, a desire to be role models for their children, and increased motivation—all leading to better academic outcomes.
“There was a very clear articulation of skills and competencies that help someone thrive in a college environment, being gained and built upon because they are a parent,” said Melissa Valenzuela-Stookey, director of P-16 research at EdTrust-West.
The data also revealed how well parenting students’ needs are being met and identified gaps that institutions can address. Nearly three in four respondents felt included on campus, but the picture shifted when focusing on their identity as student parents. Over half felt uncertain about belonging, and nearly half felt they did not fit in when considering their role as student parents. These findings highlight the need to address the unique challenges parenting students face to support their success.
The study also examined how parenting students access information about resources and policies to support their success and belonging. Respondents most often cited the need for clearer, more accessible resources. Less than half could easily find information about support for student parents, revealing a significant gap in awareness.
The findings showed most parenting students were unaware of campus resources like priority access, financial assistance, off-campus childcare, and parenting classes. This disconnect can isolate parenting students and undermine their sense of belonging on campus. When students can’t easily access resources meant to support them, it sends the message that their needs are unprioritized, making it harder to feel valued on campus. Improving the visibility and accessibility of information is crucial to fostering a stronger sense of belonging and ensuring parenting students receive the support they need to thrive.
How Can We Support Parenting Students?
Creating supportive policies and resources is key to fostering parenting students’ sense of belonging on campus. Respondents emphasized that clear policies regarding minors on campus are essential to eliminate ambiguity for students, staff, and faculty. Student parents recommend adding a family-friendly syllabus statement to help parenting students feel acknowledged and valued.
“A sense of belonging (to me) means that I’m allowed to show up every day as my authentic self and embrace my role and identity as a parent, and those experiences, without feeling othered or judged… It also means acknowledging that student parents exist and that our participation on campus is welcome and valid,” said Jordan Calley, a student parent at San Francisco State University.
State policymakers must prioritize and allocate funds to develop or expand family-friendly spaces and resources on campuses. These resources include childcare centers, family resource centers, lactation spaces, changing tables, and 24-hour family-friendly study rooms.
As emphasized during the discussion, “those closest to the issues intuitively know the solutions.” Centering policies and practices on parenting students’ voices and experiences is key to bridging gaps in support, affirming their place within the campus community, and strengthening their sense of belonging.
About the Michelson 20MM Foundation
Michelson 20MM is a private, nonprofit foundation working toward equity for underserved and historically underrepresented communities by expanding access to educational and employment opportunities, increasing affordability of educational programs, and ensuring the necessary supports are in place for individuals to thrive. To do so, we work in the following verticals: Digital Equity, Intellectual Property, Smart Justice, Student Basic Needs, and Open Educational Resources (OER). Co-chaired and funded by Alya and Gary Michelson, Michelson 20MM is part of the Michelson Philanthropies network of foundations.
In 2024, the Michelson 20MM Foundation’s Student Basic Needs Initiative sought to increase persistence and graduation rates by driving systems change, conducting research, and identifying policies to support student basic needs.
As we continued the Michelson Pregnant and Parenting Student Project, a platform designed to increase support of California’s pregnant and parenting postsecondary students, we celebrated the following successes:
Assemblymember Marc Berman authored AB 2881, which Michelson 20MM’s sister organization the Michelson Center for Public Policy co-sponsored. Its passage represents major progress in serving nearly half a million student parents across California’s higher education systems.
The bill’s author participated in our California State University (CSU) Student Parent Network to share insight on progress and implementation. Assemblymember Berman emphasized how the bill is designed to remove the barriers inhibiting academic success and degree attainment for student parents in our community colleges, CSUs, and UCs. In addition to bringing greater attention to their needs, the law grants priority registration for student parents and requires campuses to establish a student-parent webpage. It also necessitates that campuses provide more information to student parents about the California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
Due to its importance, Michelson 20MM hosted two webinars to highlight the impacts of this bill post-implementation. The webinars discussed key takeaways and lessons learned from practitioners and student parents who have benefited from it.
Passage of a New Law
Learning about student parent supports during the Student Basic Needs Sacramento Day
This year marked another pivotal time for student parents in California. On September 29, 2024, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2458, the Greater Accessibility, Information, Notice, and Support (GAINS) for Student Parents Act. It helps ensure 400,000+ student parents and their children are set on clearer paths to college success and multigenerational prosperity.
The act was co-authored by Assemblymembers Berman, Arambula, and Boerner, along with Senators Ashby and Limón. Co-sponsored by the Michelson Center for Public Policy, the law is the first of its kind in the nation and a major victory for higher education equity. As a result, student parents will have enhanced financial aid access, institutions will automatically adjust a student parent’s cost of attendance to account for expenses such as childcare, campuses will uniformly collect and report data on student parents, and that data will be included in the Cradle to Career longitudinal data system.
Launching the Michelson 20MM California Student Parent Pooled Fund
In a landmark initiative to champion the needs of student parents, the Michelson 20MM Foundation was proud to announce the inaugural cohort of the California Student Parent Pooled Fund.
The groundbreaking endeavor addresses the unique challenges student parents face, promoting equity and systemic change for this often overlooked demographic. Our inaugural cohort included the following organizations: Early Edge California, Northwestern University, Three Frame Media, and Urban Institute.
Advancing a Sense of Belonging for Student Parents on Campus
In partnership with The Education Trust—West, we launched the CSU Student Parents Sense of Belonging Survey. The goal of the project is to increase understanding of and transparency around parenting students’ experiences and sense of belonging across the CSU system.
Later this week, Michelson 20MM, together with The Education Trust—West, will host “The State of Pregnant and Parenting Students in California: Fostering a Sense of Belonging at CSUs.” The event will dive into the report’s key preliminary findings. We hope that the report will help uplift promising practices and supports that foster and sustain a sense of belonging for parenting students. The goal is that institutions across the CSUs incorporate the practices within their own campuses.
Forging Multigenerational Supports for Student Parents and Their Families
Panel discusses “Raising Up”
This fall, we were proud to host the second annual “Forging Equitable Futures for Student Parents: A Statewide Summit.” The two-day event began at Regal LA Live on September 5th with a keynote address from Assemblymember Marc Berman. As he stated, “helping student parents will have a multiplier effect.”
The evening featured a screening of “Raising Up,” a five-part docuseries investigating the barriers students face when pursuing higher education. It also showcases the innovative leaders creating generational impact. Day two of the event featured attendees including advocates, practitioners, philanthropists, systems leaders, student parents, and allies from all across the state to learn about evidence-based examples of success stories and build connections to sustain this growing movement.
Looking Ahead
As we move into 2025, we are committed to driving multigenerational change at the micro level within families. At the same time, we will inspire systems change within California’s higher education ecosystem and policy change at the state level. Michelson 20MM is excited to formally work with and support the CSU Chancellor’s Office to implement a systemwide initiative in support of pregnant and parenting students across all 23 campuses.
For student parents and their families, we hope to strengthen and create postsecondary and employment and workforce pathways. This will break intergenerational cycles of poverty and forge futures filled with economic opportunity and prosperity. Throughout the process, we’ll source solutions from student parents and the many advocates who have championed the importance of this work.
In closing, thank you to our partners, fellow advocates, and student parents for their unwavering support in driving these vital initiatives forward. Together, we are shaping a more equitable future for student parents and their families. We look forward to continuing this work with you into 2025. If you would like to get involved, please contact Dr. Queena Hoang, Student Basic Needs Senior Program Manager.
About the Michelson 20MM Foundation
Michelson 20MM is a private, nonprofit foundation working toward equity for underserved and historically underrepresented communities by expanding access to educational and employment opportunities, increasing affordability of educational programs, and ensuring the necessary supports are in place for individuals to thrive. To do so, we work in the following verticals: Digital Equity, Intellectual Property, Smart Justice, Student Basic Needs, and Open Educational Resources (OER). Co-chaired and funded by Alya and Gary Michelson, Michelson 20MM is part of the Michelson Philanthropies network of foundations.
Isaac Alferos
Melissa Valenzuela-Stookey
Maya Valree
