Reduced Cost and Evening Childcare Helps GCC Students

Finding quality, affordable, and reliable childcare can be an overwhelming challenge for student-parents who want to take classes during early evening hours.

Gateway Community College’s Early Learning Center (ELC) will be offering a solution to this problem beginning in fall 2019. The ELC was recently awarded a Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) grant from the U.S. Department of Education to develop a new program. For GCC's Pell-eligible student-parents, the ELC will now offer childcare options that will cater to their class schedules and their child’s needs by offering childcare during an extended day into evening.

The ELC is currently open late August through early June, Monday through Friday, from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm. A reduced rate is available to GCC students, making an accredited preschool more affordable. The Center will be able to reduce this rate even further through the new grant funds beginning in the fall, for Pell-eligible student-parents who attend GCC and have a preschool age child. The ELC also offers School Readiness Grant slots on a sliding scale fee to New Haven residents, whether or not they are GCC students.

In addition, the grant allows the ELC to expand its offerings to include evening care for school-age children. ELC Director, Sarah Chambers, said that evening care will be offered this fall from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for children ages three through 12.

“We are looking forward to reaching even more GCC student-parents beginning in the fall,” Chambers said. “Some of the student-parents we already serve through our preschool program will qualify for additional support through the CCAMPIS grant. In addition, I’m thrilled to begin offering afternoon and evening care for school age children.”

Fully licensed and accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the ELC preschool tuition includes breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack, a choice of three instructional models, enrichment programs, and parent resources. The curriculum is centered on the strengths, interests, abilities, and needs of the children.

Chambers noted that the goal of the grant is to support more student-parents. Many will now be able to attend evening classes at GCC. She noted that this will allow them to move more quickly toward their educational goals by having the option of reliable on-site childcare.