Hawkeye Childcare Disparity Scholarships – CORE Grant

Hawkeye students are at-risk, defined as anyone who faces greater than normal obstacles in pursuing, achieving, and succeeding in educational goals. The childcare obstacle is insurmountable for low-income students. Hawkeye tries to carefully balance the expense of providing quality childcare with the need for affordable access. One solution is to leverage scholarships to mitigate the disparity between cost of service and ability to pay. High quality comes from degreed staff using developmentally appropriate practices for the way children progress and learn. The Center staffs two lead teachers in each of four classrooms: infants (6 weeks-18 months), young toddlers (18 months –2 years), older toddlers (18 months–3 years), and preschoolers (3-5 years). Enrolled children receive significant benefits from research-based early education curriculum and interventions. Hawkeye’s disparity scholarships benefit both generations, giving women access to higher education to improve their earning power and their children a solid educational foundation for continued learning.