Why We Invested
Student parents over-perform on academics, yet tend to stop out 10 times more than non-parenting students. Postsecondary affordability, along with the cost of child care are key drivers to this stop out problem for parents. Student parents tend to graduate with more debt than other students and also have greater financial need than those without children. A big portion of those costs is childcare. We are supporting Ed Trust’s efforts to conduct a college affordability analysis focused on student parents by states, as well as efforts for communicating and disseminating that information. This is an opportunity to elevate costs for student parents, make a greater linkage between cost and completion, and impact policy on postsecondary affordability for student parents.
The Education Trust leads vital efforts to build and engage diverse communities of advocates that believe in educational equity and the power of education. At its core, education equity is the notion that all students deserve high-quality teaching and learning, and every opportunity to thrive. Ed Trust believes education equity is justice, and that as advocates, our core mission is about the pursuit of justice for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds in particular.