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The Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts (CFNCM) awarded the MWCC Foundation $20,000 in funding to support the Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC)’s Child Watch: Experiential Learning Program.
The CFNCM grant has allowed MWCC to fund a parenting student to work as a part-time person as the Child Watch Team Leader within the Child Watch program and two part-time students to work as Child Watch Team Members during the busy K-12 school vacation weeks. Additionally, a small amount of funding is used on supplies for the Child Watch and diapers for families.
The MWCC Child Watch is a supervised place where registered and eligible students can safely leave their child(ren) for up to four hours while they attend class, study, meet with their advisor, or receive tutoring. Student-parents must remain on campus and be reachable by cell phone while their child is in the Child Watch and return to the Child Watch if they are needed.
“The CFNCM’s support has enabled us to create a supportive, responsive, and inclusive space for student-parents that fosters academic success, personal growth, and community building,” stated MWCC President James Vander Hooven. “Without this funding we would not have been able to hire the necessary student workers to provide consistent, quality care for the children of our student-parents, especially during peak times like the K-12 school vacation weeks.”
The Child Watch Team Leader role is filled by Sara Leopaldi, an Early Childhood Education major who is graduating in May with their certificate and associate degree. This allowed for both the increase in the number of children in the Child Watch service but also training of the Child Watch staff in best practices.
“Without the child watch I would not be where I am today. Early on in my degree I was a full-time caregiver to a child and I had no support or direction in my life. When I became a work study on campus, I started to implement what I was learning in my ECE classes into the Child Watch. This ignited an even bigger passion for not only Early Childhood Education and special education but a passion for family advocacy,” notes the Leopaldi. “If I can support my fellow student parents parenting students the way I was supported I know each and every one of these parents will succeed at whatever they put their mind to. I also know that each one of these children who come into our care in the child watch service are a part of not only my journey, but their parents journey. These children are not only seeing their parents succeed they’re seeing the hard-work and grit it takes to get to that success. These children will also follow in their parents’ footsteps one day just like I know my child will.”
“Over the course of the semester, our Child Watch Teach Lead has brought a wealth of information to the room and helping to revamp our policies and procedures while guiding our staff in how to engage, comfort and support our young charges,” states Ann Reynolds, MWCC Coordinator of Student Parent Supports. “By hiring part-time students from diverse majors such as Early Childhood Education, Nursing, and Human Services, we’ve been able to build a dynamic team that not only offers care but also contributes valuable knowledge and resources to the families we serve. This funding has made possible the creation of an environment where peer-to-peer mentoring thrives, something that would not have been sustainable without the staff and resources to maintain the program.”