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Representative John Tierney announced Tuesday, Sept. 25 that
Salem State College will receive $27,000 per year for the
next four years to support the participation of children of
low-income student-parents in the campus pre-school program.
The Congressman visited the pre-school on the college's South
Campus at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 1.
The money will allow Preschool Coordinator Beverly Gerson to
fund three full-time sliding fee slots for low-income children.
She will also use a portion of the money to furnish a new Parent
Resource Room.
Campus childcare is a vital necessity for parents attending
college, Gerson said. "Our student parents are extremely
motivated and they work so hard to build a better future for
themselves and for their families, she said.
Tierney, a graduate of Salem State, said the college was
a pioneer among public colleges in providing on-campus childcare.
"When I was a student in 1970 students petitioned the
President of the college to initiate a childcare center,"
he said.
"Over these three decades, both the college and I have
grown in our understanding of the great need for safe, high-quality
childcare, not just on campus but wherever parents work and
study," Tierney added.
Tierney also stated that this federal money will help the
student-parents emotionally by helping them enroll their children
in a state-of-the-art childcare program near their classrooms.
"I congratulate Beverly Gerson and her outstanding staff
for their commitment both to quality childcare and to low-income
student-parents," he added.
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