The SPARK Collaborative
Student-Parent Action through Research Knowledge
Vision
We build evidence and make the case for policy change to support pregnant and parenting students and their families through data, research, lived/living expertise, and past learning, while developing future generations of leaders.
Context: A Large Share of
College Students
Are Parenting
The National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey: 2016 Undergraduate provides national statistics on student parent characteristics.
There are over 5.4 million student parents in the US.
22%
of all undergraduates
have dependent children
31%
of graduate students
have dependent children
30%
of female undergraduates of color
have dependent children
34%
of female graduate students of color
have dependent children
Student parents earn comparable grades as non-parenting peers but are much less likely to complete degrees.
Completing a college degree benefits parents and their children in the long term.
Featured Resources
Roadmap for Change to Support Pregnant and Parenting Students
This expansive roadmap provides a vision for stakeholders interested in supporting parents pursuing postsecondary pathways and their families.
Title IX Communications Guide
This communications guide and toolkit for campus helps administrators and staff support pregnant and parenting students through the lens of Title IX.
Considerations for Postsecondary Data on Student Parenting Status
As part of the Data-to-Action Campaign for Parenting Students, this brief summarizes the current state of data collection relating to parenting students, proposes a new definition for research, and includes questions that colleges can ask students.
What if Mom Went Back to School?
This research examines outcomes over 20 years for student mothers and their children when women re-enroll in school.
The Origin of SPARK:
Student-Parent Families
at the Center
The Student-Parent Families at the Center project from the Urban Institute, Wellesley Centers for Women, and a Leadership Council of 45 stakeholders in the student parent space ignited the SPARK Collaborative. Imaginable Futures supported this work. The project mapped the many policy systems that student-parent families navigate in complex and intersectional ways, represented by the Student-Parent Families at the Center Framework. The Roadmap for Change to support Pregnant and Parenting Students describes opportunities to support pregnant and parenting students through practice, policy, research, and investment if stakeholders from across the system communicate, coordinate, and collaborate.
More about SPARK
Research and technical assistance
Policy tracking and analysis
Decades of student parent policy experience
Legal expertise, resources, and advocacy
Learn more about SPARK by watching our SPARK Launch event, hosted by the Urban Institute on March 7, 2023. You can also read about Dr. Autumn Green’s story.
Learn more about the resources we plan to offer in the near future.
Terminology note: Read about why we use “student parents,” “pregnant and parenting students,” and “students with children” interchangeably.
Thank You: Our
Current Funders
Funding Family-Friendly Rural and Tribal Campuses as part of the Building Evidence to Increase Rural Learner Success initiative
Funding the Data-to-Action Campaign for Parenting Students
Co-funding the Data-to-Action Campaign for Parenting Students
Supporting SPARK Collaborative communications and development through a modest internal investment
Interested in joining this list? Check out some of the work we are developing
and/or contact us at StudentParentFramework@urban.org.
Join Us
Do you care about promoting education, career, and life opportunities for parents?
Do you think higher education should be a realistic pathway out of poverty?
Do you have ideas, experiences, or resources that can help make systems work better for families?
Become part of our network.
You can also email us at
StudentParentFramework@urban.org
Theresa Anderson, Autumn R. Green, and Jessica Lee are the current leaders of the SPARK Collaborative.
We are grateful for support from a wide range of thought partners, including members of the Student-Parent Families at the Center Leadership Council, Ryan Kelsey, Nathan Sick, Jessica Pelton, Tiffany Marra, Barbara Anderson, Heather Willoughby, Camilla Kraft, Shayne Spaulding, and many others.
More site features and resources coming soon.
© 2023 SPARK Collaborative
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