Couleecap, Inc. releases its latest Community Concerns Paper – Claiming an Education: An Act of Courage, Hope and Tenacity for Low-Income Students
May 29, 2018
 | By Jamie Schloegel, Chief Executive Officer |
The last Couleecap Community Concerns paper focused on the presentation of childhood poverty in our area schools. To build on that discussion, Couleecap asked Andrea Hansen from the Self-Sufficiency Program at UWL to share her experience working with low-income, single parents who have a dream of attending college.
Most Self-Sufficiency Program participants are women and single parents with two children. Almost all participants struggle with low-wage work, instability in hours and schedules, few opportunities for advancement, and inadequate and expensive childcare.
Nationally, only a quarter of single parents in college complete their degrees within six years of starting. In SSP at UWL…… When low-income single mother achieve a college degree, their children benefit TWICE – first from their mother’s high earning power, and second from witnessing their mother’s success in breaking through the barriers to access higher education.
Read the full paper here: Claiming an Education: An Act of Courage, Hope and Tenacity for Low-Income Students by Andrea Hansen.