Grant open to assist parents on campus
Many students on campus may experience the struggles of taking care of their children while attending college. Between childcare costs, maintaining grades, working and parenting, many students struggle to finish their degree and graduate college.
Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS), which is a federally funded program, aims to combat this issue at TAMUK by providing the TAMUK CCAMPIS grant to students who are parents and meet certain criteria. The grant was created to provide students the tools and resources necessary to allow them to earn their degree successfully.
Along with the grant, the CCAMPIS Program also offers other services such as tutoring assistance, parent workshops along with advisement for financial aid and graduate programs, according to information provided by TAMUK.
“I think it’s a great opportunity especially if you have younger kids who aren’t school age. This gives them an opportunity to know that, one, their child is safe and that they are taken care of while in class. This also gives them the support that they need to be able to come onto campus to use the stuff like the writing lab and the math lab and all the other activates that the campus and the school does provide,” Melissa Mccready-Kent, a mother and student here at TAMUK, said.
Though her child is of school age and wouldn’t need the program, if he was younger Mccready said this would have been a great resource to get her back to campus, knowing her child was in a safe environment while in class.
Some goals for the program include allowing student parents access to childcare, academic and financial resources to increase persistence and graduation rates.
One condition to receive the grant is that students must enroll their children at the Marc Cisneros Center for Young Children (MCCYC).
Dr. Marisol Laredo, the director of the MCCYC, described the partnership between the MCCYC with the CCAMPIS Program and how students can benefit from the resources they will be offered if accepted.
“The CCAMPIS program benefits student-parents at TAMUK because it will provide them with services to meet their needs from the beginning of their enrollment through graduation,” Laredo said. “There are currently 28 spots available for the program.”
Though the program hosts 70 students and 100 early childhood participants eligible for the program, 28 spots remain.
“I think the grant is excellent. It’s very supportive of non-traditional students who have children. I like that it’s willing to accept 100 applicants and the requirements seem so simple. I know this will help students who are parents that are trying to get a better education for a better life for our children,” TAMUK student and parent Martisha Montemayor said.
Visit https://www.tamuk.edu/studentaccess/ccampis.html for eligibility factors and how to apply. For more information on the CCAMPIS Grant or tips on how to complete the application, students are encouraged to contact the Marc Cisneros Center for Young Children via email at mccyc@tamuk.edu or call 361-593-2219.
