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CONTACT DETAILS

Bristol Women's Center
WomensCenter@BristolCC.edu
774.357.2954

777 Elsbree Street
Fall River, MA 02720
E104a

UPCOMING EVENTS

COURSE SEARCH

Bristol’s Parenting Advancement Pathways program holistically supports Bristol’s student parents balancing their education while raising children. The program provides participants with valuable resources, inside and outside of the college, such as holistic case management, financial and career planning, as well as the integrated, wrap-around academic support that leads to earning a degree and improving overall wellbeing.

Student Amy PotterParenting Advancement Pathways Testimonial

Parenting Advancement Pathways has helped me deal with difficult situations both academically and personally.

When many things come up at once, you can feel lost. However, the support and tools that the staff, workshops, and mentors have given me has helped me overcome many obstacles as well as set short-term and long-term goals and achieve them.

Parenting Advancement Pathways is a great way for student parents to connect with each other, it is like fitting into a perfect group.
– Hernali Cubano

“The program has been a safe place for me to share my struggles and aspirations involving my education. It has helped me strengthen my confidence in making decisions that will benefit my family.”

 

Steve"As a single father in school, Parenting Advancement Pathways has been a large part of my successes as a returning student to Bristol Community College. The supportive network aids in a successful balance of parenting, education, and employment to better sustain family goals. To any parent who wishes there was more help, this is a key aide to your parenting, career, and educational goals. -Steve

 

“When parents can focus on their educational, career, and financial goals with support and high-impact best practices, they are more likely to reach their goals.”

Rachel Madonna"Starting this group and hearing about their own triumphant stories, and seeing troubles that others were facing, helped me to refocus on myself.

To know that I wasn't the only one facing depression, life struggles, and single motherhood helped me become a better person, mother, and student." -Rachel

 

“This program was very helpful and supportive. It helped me understand that there are many women in different situations but basically fighting for the same goals.”

About Bristol's Parenting Advancement Pathways Program

Bristol's Parenting Advancement Pathways program began supporting student parents in Spring 2021. Participants access on- and off-campus resources, including community mentoring, academic planning, financial literacy workshops, assistance with SNAP/EBT, housing programs, utility aid, etc.

This program focuses on supporting BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), low-income, and single parent students but is open to all parenting students currently studying at Bristol. The program includes an application and a brief intake process (virtual or in-person).

If you are interested in applying, please fill out the Parenting Advancement Pathways application and you will be contacted to set up an intake session.

PARENTING ADVANCEMENT PATHWAYS APPLICATion

Read the Parenting Advancement Pathways Newsletter.

Resources

Academic

The Parenting Advancement Program will work with the college’s student centers and departments – such as the Women’s Center, Multicultural Affairs, Disability Services, Admissions, Advising, Financial Aid, Career Services, and Student and Family Engagement, to customize services and resources to aid student success.

These efforts aim to address unique challenges faced by student-parents by providing academic support, career guidance, financial assistance, and family-friendly campus initiatives, all designed to empower them to balance their educational pursuits with parenting responsibilities effectively.

Mentoring and Collaboration

The Parenting Advancement Program will provide resources such as holistic case management, financial and career planning, mentoring and ongoing educational workshops.

Participants may be assigned a volunteer accountability partner or coach to help them stay on track and provide experience-based guidance and encouragement. These coaches are provided by Pave Your Path, which works to empower women living on low or no incomes to achieve economic self-reliance.

The innovative program is funded by BayCoast Bank, Women's Fund of Southeastern Massachusetts, the Foundation and private donors.

Please email WomensCenter@BristolCC.edu for more information about Parenting Advancement Pathways.

Frequently Asked Questions

This cohort program is designed exclusively to support parenting students for success. The benefits of joining this program are that students are equipped with free fundamental tools and resources such as, but not limited to, holistic case management, financial literacy, career planning, essential workshops, and continuous guidance and mentorship, all leading to degree attainment. In addition, there are optional monthly group support sessions and various incentives offered throughout the semester. Parenting Advancement Pathways partners with students on their journey so that they are empowered to achieve and realize their goals.

This is a group of people with shared experiences working together to achieve shared goals.

The program is open to Bristol Community College parenting students.

  • The willingness to commit to the program; this is beneficial in claiming educational success.
  • Attend the monthly workshop.
  • Meet individually with the Recruitment Counselor and mentor.
During the semester, there will be workshops to address various informative needs such as, but not limited to, financial literacy, stress management for families, academic/library support, etc. These are subject to change and will be updated accordingly.
The Recruitment Counselor will meet with you at different times during the month. There will be shorter and longer meetings. Each student is unique so the experience is tailored to your different needs. This will be discussed during the interview and orientation to the program.
Based on your interests, you will be paired with a volunteer mentor who has an understanding of the challenges and obstacles encountered along the path to success.  It is up to you and your mentor to discuss when to meet and for how long.

This is an optional shared space to share comradery with others.

“Women unity is strength.”

Yes! We’re here virtually for you too!

Applying is free and simple! Simply complete a brief application form and we will follow up with you with next steps. We encourage you to apply even if you aren’t sure if you want to fully commit to the program. We're happy to follow up and provide more information before you decide to participate.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

You will be contacted by the Recruitment Counselor for an interview, a program overview, and will need to attend the program’s orientation in September (TBA).

Orientation is a session in which the programming and logistics of the program will be outlined. The goal is to set you up for success in the program by sharing some important information and program resources before we get started.

Being a participant in this program means being supported in various ways by attending the monthly workshop, optional Women’s Circle, meeting with the Recruitment Counselor and mentor for additional resources for success and growth.