Scottdale Early Learning (SEL), a 501(c)3 early care and educational organization serving low- and moderate-income families in DeKalb County, has entered the final stage of an initiative, funded by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL), to address the unique challenges faced by college students who are parents.
Last year, SEL was one of nine nonprofit organizations to receive a $10,000 Two Generation (2Gen) Innovation Grant. The organization partnered with Georgia State University to understand and assess the needs of student-parents on the Perimeter College Decatur and Clarkston campuses who were struggling with the responsibilities of completing their education while caring for young children.
“We formed a Two-Gen Task Force of DeKalb County partners, facilitated student-parent focus groups and conducted surveys to identify their main concerns, and met monthly to explore the best solutions,” shared Virginia Baker, SEL Executive Director. “We discovered that the top three resources they needed were assistance paying for childcare, financial support and student-parent housing. Equipped with that knowledge, we are ready to take the final step of this initiative, which is to give them access to vital resources that will help them succeed in school and as parents, and that includes providing high-quality early education and care for their children.”
Two-Gen Task Force partners include the DeKalb Initiative for Children and Families, CareSource, the City of Clarkston, the Salvation Army, the DeKalb Partners for Early Learning and the Clarkston Development Foundation.
