Blog
RFP Submission Guidelines for the Aspen Policy Acceleration Partnership Grants
Investing in the postsecondary success of students who are parents is one of the most effective strategies for accelerating their economic and social mobility, addressing longstanding inequalities, and building state and local economies. Public sector agencies and their partners can build supportive pathways for student parents toward meaningful degrees and credentials that lead to careers with better pay and benefits. …
An Evidence-Based Approach to Child Support
Record levels of job loss, economic instability, and family isolation during the pandemic have raised the child support policy stakes for fathers, families, and communities. Through careful and rigorous research, we know that there is a better way to approach child support policy to build strong families and communities. Across the country – states, counties, and tribes…
Ascend National Advisors are Taking Action to Combat COVID-19 and Support Student Parents
Although the COVID-19 pandemic threw off the day-to-day lives of people across the country, that did not stop nonprofits, health and human services, workforce programs, higher education professionals and more from creating rapid response services to support student parents. The Ascend National Advisors, a cohort of 23 leaders providing supports for student parents and inform…
Parent Voice During a Pandemic: Ascend PSP Parent Advisors Share Their Quarantine Stories
Students who are parents are all too familiar with unpredictability. Whether they have to bring their kid to class because their child care fell through or need to stay late at the library to use free WiFi because they lost access at home, student parents are shapeshifters who find a way when it seems like…
Virtual Discussion: How Communities and Political Leaders Can Support Schools This Year
Governors, mayors, and families are on the front lines of communities coping with changes in the pandemic world. As the school year begins, the Aspen Institute turns to representatives of these three groups to ask: How can we support students and families in this unprecedented school year? On August 26, Ascend and the Aspen Education…
Introducing the 2020-2021 Ascend PSP National Advisors
The Aspen Postsecondary Success for Parents (PSP) Initiative is a partnership with Imaginable Futures and the ECMC Foundation to raise awareness about and share recommendations to better support students who are parents. The PSP Initiative is informed by three groups of experts from across the United States: Parent Advisors, National Advisors, and the Postsecondary Leadership Circle for Parents. The 2020 –…