{"id":191225,"date":"2024-02-01T15:38:51","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T01:38:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=191225"},"modified":"2024-02-01T15:38:51","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T01:38:51","slug":"leeward-cc-balancing-parenting-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/02\/01\/leeward-cc-balancing-parenting-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Balancing parenting and learning, Leeward CC<\/abbr> expands support"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Student, Angessa Newman, with family at Waikīkī Aquarium assignment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An estimated 20–30% of Leeward Community College<\/a> students are parents, juggling multiple responsibilities. Leeward CC<\/abbr> aims to help change the lives of these ʻohana<\/span> by expanding family-integrated academic offerings for current and prospective student-parents with the help of a grant.<\/p>\n

\"women<\/p>\n

“I had my daughter during a long break that I took from college. Returning was very difficult as a parent,” said Kelli Alyssa Soma, a Leeward CC<\/abbr> student pursuing a bachelor\u2019s degree in elementary education. “If Leeward provided more opportunities to include families in classes and assignments, more student-parents would likely find the motivation to go to (or return to) school, and this would inspire youth as well, seeing their parents go to school.”<\/p>\n

Leeward CC<\/abbr> faculty group Leeward Hui ʻOhana<\/span><\/a> was one of six recipients (out of more than 100 applicants) chosen for a $12,500 award from the Parent-Powered Solutions Fund. The fund was established by Ascend at the Aspen Institute<\/a>, an organization that helps build intergenerational family prosperity and well-being.<\/p>\n

“Our parenting students will be able to complete homework while also spending quality time with their children,” said Assistant Professor Ashley Biddle, who co-founded Leeward Hui ʻOhana<\/span>.<\/p>\n

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Leeward CC<\/abbr> student, Genesis Tanuvasa, with family<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Leeward CC<\/abbr> student Genesis Tanuvasa, a new member of the Parenting Student Advisory Board, which was formed recently with the help of the grant, is the mother of two children under 3-years-old.<\/p>\n

“We (student-parents) have children to care for, jobs, homework to finish, and so much more that needs to be done within a day’s work,” Tanuvasa said. “Mental, financial and physical help from anyone is very much appreciated.”<\/p>\n

Some of the support services Leeward CC<\/abbr> provides that help student-parents, include The Children\u2019s Center<\/a>, which offers preschool for children of enrolled students, food pantry Hānai iā Leeward<\/a>, mental health and wellness counseling<\/a>, and the Student Health Center<\/a>, which also offers telemedicine appointments. Leeward Hui ʻOhana<\/span> also supplies a swap-and-share space and has a partnership with the Aloha Diaper Bank<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Through the Parent-Powered Solutions Fund, we will be able to develop curricula and provide holistic support to those balancing child-care and academic responsibilities,” added Michelle Igarashi, dean of Arts and Sciences. “We look forward to enhancing our institution’s offerings and supporting our community through this partnership.”<\/p>\n

—By Erin Maruoka<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leeward CC<\/abbr> aims to make more courses family-integrated for its student-parents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[65,1111,71],"class_list":["post-191225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-student-service","tag-uh-community-colleges","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t