All for Family: Clayton State student parents discuss degree drive, university support

(July 29, 2024) - It’s 5:00 in the morning, and the day is just beginning for Business Management senior Michelle Roache.

Following her morning devotional, Roache begins getting herself ready for the day ahead, gets her book bag packed, and ensures she has everything set for class on campus.

And then, it’s time to get her kids up, dressed, and off to school, as well.

Roache is a mother of three children – ages 17, four, and two – and is one of many students at Clayton State University who benefits from the assistance of the institution’s childcare subsidy program.

For the soon-to-be Class of 2025 graduate, the program has been nothing short of a blessing.

“I'm very grateful for the subsidy program,” Roache said. “It has most definitely made it easier for me to transition from being a stay-at-home mom to being an almost graduate. I appreciate Clayton State most definitely for my work study position, the childcare subsidy – all of it. I love my school.”

Clayton State Psychology Prof. Deborah Deckner Davis has served as the head of the university’s childcare subsidy program for years, passionate in her pursuit to aid parenting students in Laker Nation.

The university’s subsidy program has two primary funders – the U.S. Dept. of Education and the Atlanta Women’s Foundation, with the latter having recently provided a $50,000 grant through its Breaking Barriers, Building Women: Economic Empowerment Program.

Beyond grateful, Deckner Davis said the financial backing from both organizations has made a strong, positive difference for not just Laker student parents, but also for their families.

“Funds provides subsidies for parents to select quality-rated care in the state of Georgia,” Deckner Davis said. “With these grants, we pay the provider directly and offer up to $150 per week per eligible child. Depending on where in metro Atlanta you're living, that can cover most to the full cost [of childcare].”

Deckner Davis also strongly advocates for student parents because of what she knows they bring to the university, as well.

According to the subsidy program leader, graduation rates for parenting students over a six-year-period is only 33%. But at Clayton State, Deckner Davis said graduation rates are significantly higher for all of the institution’s childcare subsidy program participants.

To ensure that success is maintained, she should like to see greater campus awareness of the program’s available resources as well as greater funding and services for parenting students at Clayton State University.

“Parenting students have a special fire in their belly,” Deckner Davis said. “They are not pursuing their degrees just for them ... they’re doing it for their loved ones. They’re doing it in part for their kids ... they want to set an example. They want to be a role model in terms of resilience and perseverance, and that creates a special type of energy and dedication in the classroom.”

Kayla Miller, a Clayton State health science junior, possesses that very fire.

When she’s not taking care of two teenage boys at home, Miller can often be found serving in her role as the vice president of Parents Loch’d In – a student parents support group founded by Clayton State senior Kayla Lewis back in 2021.

Miller said the group was founded for student parents to have a place to bring their questions, concerns, requests, and more surrounding their double duties in both academic and family life.

It’s also a great place to receive encouragement on particularly difficult days.

“Maybe you've already had your child at daycare all day,” Miller said. “Now you have to struggle with finding someone to keep them from 6-10 p.m. while you take your evening class, or just trying to find like-minded people on campus to say, ‘hey, can you watch my child while I'm in this class and maybe I can watch your child while you're in class?’ – stuff like that.”

One concern that perhaps remains the most pressing for students in Parents Loch’d In is better childcare options.

In past university events, Miller has suggested that Clayton State could renovate and open a childcare center of its own near Laker Village, where a vacant daycare building currently sits closed and abandoned.

While she does understand the legalities and challenges that the university would face in trying to open and maintain a daycare center, she believes it’s merely another obstacle that parenting students are willing to overcome, just as they do daily.

“I’m not saying it needs to run like a traditional daycare center,” said Miller, who credited Lewis for the concept. “You can have drop-in hours. Everyone has different class times. At the beginning of the semester, it could be a lottery system, because there’s only space for so many. If your name gets drawn out of that lottery, you get 48 hours to respond.”

For many student parents, before other issues are addressed, they simply want others on campus to try and understand the many challenges they face throughout their day both at school and at home.

Miller said this is something felt by almost all, if not all, student parents, as she personally feels overwhelmed not just with school, but in her personal life, as well.

But despite the obstacles, she’s not giving up.

None of them are.

As a new school year approaches once again, Clayton State student parents are eager and prepared to get back into the classroom and earn a degree that wouldn’t simply change their lives for the better, but also the lives of their families and those they love.

“I receive financial support from the university for my daughter to go to summer camp,” said business management junior Candace Baldridge. “It has been a blessing and has allowed me to work and study in summer school worry-free. Clayton State has made my transition into being a student parent flawless because the professors have been incredibly gracious. It has allowed me to balance work, parenting, and school while succeeding in all categories.”

“Being a student parent has been like a ride at Six Flags – I call it Superman 2.0,” said student parent Jasmine Guinn. “I have been pursuing my degree for over 10 years now. Yes, it is a long time, but I am not giving up. What keeps me motivated is my kids asking how school is and then bringing them to the bookstore. They are just in awe. We talk about them one day coming on campus and doing the same thing.”