When Mikah Jorgensen gave birth to his daughter in January 2021, he struggled to stay with the degree program that had begun two years before. Without child care enough, she had to reduce the load of courses from her.
Today, she has a 1 year old daughter and, thanks to a new pilot program, she is working to finish her psychology title in Triton College, a community college outside of Chicago. She aspires to become a therapist.
JORGENSEN is part of the Academic Training pilot of the new moms, a non-profit organization that provides support services for young moms and their children who are experiencing poverty or lack of housing in the area of Chicago The program, which began last month, gives 25 mothers registered at the universities of the city of Chicago, a system of seven community colleges and six satellite sites, a monthly stipend of $ 500, which can spend on what they need, Whether it's food, clothes or another. Essentials The program is intended for single mothers 24 and younger who pursue an academic certificate or a long-term associated title.
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The Pilot also provides mothers with individual and group training, transportation and support for children. Jorgensen said the extra $ 500 has helped him buy clothes for her daughter, as well as to pay to solve her phone when she stops working unexpectedly.
"The program really helps me stay oriented to objectives, and it is simply everything that helps my perspective in the future," Jorgensen said. "I'm happy for the program, but the amount of hope that the program will give me that I can graduate is greater than it was before."
mothers who participate in the program work with new moms coaches to select the institution within the city. Chicago System Schools that best coincide with your goals and schedules. Mothers can remain enrolled in the program up to three years or until they complete their title, with an additional follow-up support offered. googleg.cmd.push (function () googleg.display ("DFP-AD -Article_in_Article"););
The objective of the program is to increase the achievement of grades for young moms in the Chicago area, said Gabrielle Caverl-McNeal, Director of Employment and Academic Training in New Moms.
"We are really thinking about how to intentionally invest in postsecondary persistence, because we know that these investments have a positive and lasting influence on families," said Caverl-McNeal. "So our strategies are rooted in the science of behavior, and we know that reducing the sources of stress, cultivating relationships and really Helping them strengthen the basic skills, which we refer to executive skills, can really have positive impacts."
New moms are just one of the different programs created by non-profit organizations and higher education institutions to help students' parents finish college. Defenders say that with support, this ignored cohort can make great profits in the grade achievement that benefits them and their families.
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Student parents They are not an insignificant group; Throughout the country, they constitute 22 percent of university students, the Women's Policy Research Institute found. That number is even higher for black women, who are more likely to be single mothers than women from other races or ethnic groups.
In Illinois, where new moms launched academic training, only 8 percent of students who are single. Mothers complete an associate of
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