College Child-Care Center Trains Parents

Going to college and raising toddlers at the same time was never easy. For scores of parents who attend Cal Poly Pomona, it might have been impossible.

But right in the middle of campus, the Cal Poly Children’s Center offered a solution by providing no-cost child care.

Some parents said they could barely have imagined that the setup could get any better. This year, it did.

A new program at the center focuses on training the young parents, even as they pursue their own higher education, to become teachers at home. Much of the focus is on preparing their children to read. And though it means a longer day on campus and another homework assignment, more and more parents are signing up.

“The hardest thing for the families is that this is the end of their day, 5:30. But they make the time to come,” said director Consuelo Rodriguez. “They look at it as so valuable. And they get to network with other adults.”

Hasmine Belmonte, who has a 4-year-old daughter, Maya, said parents “are always multi-tasking. When you’re here, you’re only thinking about your child.”

The program, made possible with a $15,000 grant from last year’s Times Holiday Campaign, brings parents together for monthly workshops. They do kindergarten art projects and hear their children’s teachers talk about topics ranging from self-esteem to bedtime stories.

The hope is that, if parents become more involved with their children’s critical early development, the children will grow up to be better readers and communicators. To that end, the Times grant also funded the purchase of mini-backpacks stuffed with read-along books and art projects that parents and kids can check out for a few nights.

“She loves it. She wants the homework,” Belmonte said of her daughter. Maya, she said, now “realizes M works with other words and not just with Maya. I know that she’s comprehending her letters, and I’m really proud of her.”

The Children’s Center is a bustling cluster of low buildings where about 70 children, 2 to 4 years old, are cared for daily by a few teachers. Parents come by for playtime between classes and during lunch breaks. The day-care aspect, Belmonte said, has been all important. She and her husband “wouldn’t be in school if it weren’t for the center.”

The Holiday Campaign was established in 2000, and is part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation. The foundation matches the first $700,000 raised at 50 cents on the dollar. Last year, the holiday appeal and matching funds from the foundation raised $653,000, which was granted to 56 charities serving Southern California.

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