The cost of tuition is a challenge for many students. That challenge becomes greater for students whose “personal expenses” include childcare.
According to a recent study by Child Care Aware of American, Oregon’s childcare was the least affordable for two-parent families in the United State for 2012.
For single mom and UO senior, Stephanie Greenwood, the Family Co-op Center provides an affordable option for her and her 2-year-old daughter. ASUO, University Housing, USDA and parent tuition help to fund this nonprofit organization.
Parents can work at the co-op in exchange for a reduction on their monthly tuition rate. Some students, like Greenwood, also receive a program subsidy funded by ASUO. For 2013-2014, ASUO allocated about $384,298 towards the program subsidy.
“It’s still a little bit of a financial crush but it could be a lot worse without both things,” Greenwood said. Being a full-time mom and student is the maximum of level of stress Greenwood says she can handle right now. She relies on student loans, grants, and her savings that she earned while working all throughout her pregnancy to pay the bills.
It costs UO students $211 per week for full-time infant care at the Co-op Center, which decreases as the child gets older. Moss Street Children Center, another childcare institution that provides assistance to UO families, charges a similar rate of $201 a week for the same service.
Greenwood pays about $400 dollars each month in toddler care which includes the subsidy and co-opting.
“The Co-op center has been a lot more affordable, especially for what you get, so it’s definitely the number one choice for me,” Greenwood said.
The Co-op started with Amazon Family Housing residents, busy with work and school, helping to care of each other’s children free of charge. In 1986, the Co-op partnered with UO to serve university families and in 2001, it became the only childcare organization contracted with the UO (getting reviewed every five years). It is stationed inside an off-campus University housing complex, Spencer View Apartments, and currently has 80 families enrolled in at least one its services.
“It’s our philosophy to create this as a home away from home,” said Co-op’s Executive Director Alisa Stull. “This is not a place to drop off your child. We have lots of opportunity for parents to be involved.”
The school is inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy that focuses on creating a child-centered system that aims to develop a child’s own process of communication, investigation and collaboration. The teachers are more like guides and facilitators that help children construct their own curriculum that follow their curiosities.
Safety, however, is an on-going concern for the Co-op Center. Although it is partly funded by the University, is on university property and serves university students, it is not considered a university program which creates some gray area in regards to safety liability. According to Stull, the co-op is not on anyone’s radar and because of that is not able to work with UOPD to come up with an emergency plan.
Still, Stull has appreciated being an independent organization that has allowed a large amount of flexibility for families like Greenwood.
“It’s just been her and I,” Greenwood said. “We’ve been a team from the start, so all the financial, emotional — everything has been just us.”