National Student Parent Month: Meet Alexx

This September, we're celebrating National Student Parent Month by sharing the stories of the parenting students Kids on Campus was built to support.

Alexx first started working toward a nursing degree in 2013. Years later, as a mom, she began exploring what it might take to go back to school and complete her degree. When she looked into resources available at Río Hondo College, she learned that as a student, she was able to access free early learning for her son. 

Through Kids on Campus, a national initiative of the Association of Community College Trustees and the National Head Start Association, Río Hondo College and Baldwin Park Unified School District Head Start have partnered to bring high-quality early learning to campus for parenting students and their families. With her son enrolled, Alexx was able to restart the coursework she began more than a decade ago. 

For Alexx, going back to school was never about choosing between her career aspirations and her family. "Just because you've had children doesn't mean you have to stop your dreams for them," she said. "You can also do it with them."

That mindset has an impact that reaches far beyond the classroom. When parents complete a credential, their children are 21% more likely to enroll in college and 38% more likely to earn a degree themselves. Learn more about Alexx’s journey in her own words: 

About Kids on Campus

Kids on Campus is a national initiative led by ACCT and NHSA that connects community colleges and Head Start programs to expand access to on-campus early childhood education for parenting students. The initiative aims to establish 50 partnerships by 2030. Learn more at kidsoncampus.org.