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Inclusion, Engagement, and Transformation

Skip to sidebarStudents Who Are Parents @ Cal

The Student Parent Program is an essential resource for a highly motivated population of undergraduate students who are engaged scholars, as well as devoted parents. The Transfer, Reentry and Student Parent Center provides a centralized multi-purpose campus space, where students can access resources, engage in informal study groups, share information, form lasting friendships, build leadership skills, celebrate achievements, recover from setbacks, exchange childcare, nurse babies and change diapers.

At every level of educational achievement, from high school through PhD programs, becoming a parent can pre-empt or preclude educational opportunities. Sustained efforts over the past 20 years have resulted in the development of Berkeley’s model student parent support services program, which is unique in the UC system.

 

Inclusion & Access

Current Cal student parents participate in the TRSP Center’s Starting Point Mentorship Program to provide individual peer mentoring for student parents in community colleges, and host campus visits from local high school teen parent programs.  Peer interns also make calls to newly admitted
students with dependents to answer any questions or concerns they may have about making the decision to come to Cal.

The CCAMPIS (Child Care Access Means Parents in School) SCHOLARS  Project supports student parents at critical junctures, from undergraduate admission to graduation and preparation for graduate schools and careers.  Student Parent staff and interns provide direct assistance in successfully combining school and parenting, expanding access to subsidized child care and eliminating barriers to academic access, equity and achievement.

The CalWORKs = CalGRADs Project was created to ensure that low-income student parents who must rely on the welfare to work program to attend Cal are able to fulfill and document their education and work requirements, and maintain eligibility for needed educational and childcare support.

           

Transition & Navigation

The Student Parent Program engages in e-mail and phone outreach to newly admitted students with dependents, sponsors a summer Student Parent HeadStart workshop, participates in Transfer Student CalSO orientations and contributes to welcome week workshops and events at the TRSP Center. Program staff and peer interns are available for drop-in counseling and problem-solving, covering specialized issues and resources that are important to new students and/or new parents.

Once Upon A University: The student parent experience at Cal is an Education 98/198 Course designed to ensure a successful first semester personal and academic transition and to introduce student families to the resources and opportunities the campus and surrounding community have to offer.
Pregnancy and childbirth can be transformative experiences that serve as a powerful new source of motivation to excel in college. A small but growing number of students who did not enter Cal as parents, are reaching graduation having become new parents. BEAR CUBS @ Cal is a new project, funded by the University Section Club to provide peer mentors and a support network for health care information, assistance with financial aid adjustments, information on reduced course load options, and practical strategies for successfully combining school and parenting. The Pregnancy and New Parenting check list is a collaborative effort of student parent interns who have successfully navigated this challenge.

 

Contribution & Achievement

Student parents are actively engaged in sharing successful approaches and strategies for balancing school, work and family through co-facilitation of student parent discussion groups and Bspace chat rooms as a part of the Education 98/198 course, It Takes A Village: Creating student parent learning communities.

The Student Parent Program, with faculty sponsorship from the School of Social Welfare, has developed creative opportunities for student parents to engage in service learning opportunities for academic credit that can be scheduled around classes and parenting responsibilities, on campus and in local school and community settings.  Current student-initiated internship projects include The Bear Pantry, supporting student families in meeting their basic needs.   

The Student Parent Association for Recruitment and Retention, an ASUC funded student organization, is headquartered at the Student Parent Program, providing leadership opportunities, outreach activities and promoting campus awareness of student parent concerns.

 

Engagement & Connection

The Student Parent Program is also a resource for envisioning, planning and implementing the next steps needed to prepare for life after graduation.  The final class in the student parent trilogy, Beyond The Village addresses career and graduate school preparation and planning, with the needs of families in mind.  An active partnership with the Career Center supports the development of resumes, job search strategies, internships, personal statements, graduate school applications and letters of recommendation.

Student achievements are highlighted and celebrated annually at the Transfer, Reentry and Student Parent Center Achievement Celebration, which also recognizes the campus partnerships, community organizations and specialized scholarship awards that support and encourage student achievement.
Student parents can stay connected to each other through the Student Parent Alumni Facebook Page, and there are opportunities to stay connected to the campus and support the next generation of student families by joining the Student Parent Alumni Club of the California Alumni Association.·     

Student Parent Staff:

Alice Jordan: Program Director, Student Parent Programs and Services

Alice Jordan has spearheaded the development of student parent support services throughout a twenty-five year career at Berkeley.  Beginning in the 1980's, as the Director of the campus Women's Resource Center, she created a home base for student families.  She has successfully advocated for increased financial aid awards for students with dependents, expansion of campus childcare programs, greater access to family housing and specific academic accommodations for parents. As a Program Director at the Transfer, Reentry and Student Parent Center, she counsels student parents, supervises internships for academic credit and facilitates student parent courses.  Alice Jordan previously served as the Director of Berkeley Children's Services, and completed an M.S.W. at Berkeley in Planning and Administration, with a concentration in Children/Family Services.
   

Ginelle Perez: Academic Retention Counselor - CCAMPIS Scholars Project

As a former student parent, Ginelle Perez, returns to CAL in a career staff position as the Student Parent Program’s Academic Achievement & Retention Counselor. Ginelle completed her B.A. in Social Welfare in 2009. As a Berkeley student she actively participated in the Incentive Awards Program, Student Parent Association for Recruitment and Retention (SPARR), SAGE Scholars Program, Alternative Spring Break, and was also a Chicana/Latina Scholarship recipient. Post graduation, she received her Masters in Education in Higher Education Administration and Student Services from USC. Ginelle is originally from Redwood City, CA and has two daughters, ages 10 & 2.