Windward Community College will soon be home to a Hawaiian immersion childcare center and renovated STEM learning environment supporting student success for Native Hawaiians thanks to a U.S. Department of Education Title III Grant Project award totaling $9,901,624 over the next five years.
“We are so fortunate to have received this funding as Windward CC students desperately need a childcare center, and with more STEM degree and certificate programs being offered, advanced learning experiences are essential,” said Chancellor Doug Dykstra.
The project grant, “Hānai a ulu: Feed and Grow—Nurturing student parents and STEM at Windward Community College,” will enhance student success through two major projects.
Student Parent Center development
To strengthen student parents’ success, this project will create a Student Parent Center to include a student parent counselor, textbook library and a Hawaiian immersion childcare center for infants and toddlers. This project will address a gap both in the windward community, where infant and toddler care facilities are scarce, and at Windward Community College—the only community college in Hawaiʻi lacking a childcare center.
“If a student does not have reliable care for their child, how can they attend classes, study and succeed in college? This grant works to provide childcare services for our student parents so that they can grow and succeed in college, which helps their keiki to grow and succeed,” said Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Ardis Eschenberg.
STEM facility renovation and curricular improvement
With a goal to increase student participation and success in STEM programs at Windward CC, this project will renovate outdoor, indoor and virtual learning environments. It will provide enhanced technology, data access and opportunities for laboratory experience focusing on the needs of Native Hawaiian students—42 percent of the college’s student population is Native Hawaiian. These services are vital at this time, as Windward CC has increased the number of STEM based degrees and certificates including the associate in science degree in natural science and a certificate of achievement in agripharmatech, which incorporates classes on Native Hawaiian botany and plant use.
“STEM degrees create opportunity for interesting careers with living wages. We want to engage our students in STEM, immersing them in an environment that supports their learning. This grant project serves to create and renovate STEM learning spaces both on our campus and in our online courses,” added Eschenberg.
Read the Windward CC news release for more.
—By Bonnie Beatson
