Spots remain open for qualified University of Oklahoma undergraduate students seeking to enroll their child in the OU Happy Teacher Project and the OU Institute of Child Development for the fall 2023 semester.
For more information, including who qualifies and how to apply, visit link.ou.edu/happy-ou-project-childcare
This four-year research project is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The OU Happy Teacher Project team members in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education worked with the ICD, other OU organizations and community partners, including the Center for Children and Families and the Norman Public Library to develop the research effort. The researchers hope the results of the study will inform longer-term support for low-income OU students and their families.
Kyong-Ah Kwon, associate professor and the Cable Endowed Chair in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education, leads the project with team members Courtney Dewhirst, Ph.D.; Brittany Hott, Ph.D., BCBA-D; Erin Casey, Ph.D.; the director of the Early Childhood Education Institute, Diane Horm, Ph.D.; and director of the ICD, Becca Waggoner.
“One of the target areas of the project is to add two infant toddler classrooms in the ICD and provide a significant reduction in cost or full tuition coverage to parents who are students to enroll their child in a high-quality early childhood program,” Kwon said.
“Through establishing a support system with various campus and community partners, we expect that this project will help OU students with limited resources complete their schoolwork and successfully prepare for a career, reduce financial and parenting stress, promote child and family well-being and improve the rate of students’ retention and completion of a degree at OU. We believe that this program will offer a great opportunity and support for the success of OU students and the OU community.”
In addition to aiding childcare services through the institute and other local childcare centers, the $2,998,016 funding from this award will support what the researchers call “wrap-around” services – expenses like mental health services, food and baby supplies, academic and career support, and a semester-long checkout of a laptop to qualifying low-income students enrolled at the university who are also the parent of a young child or children.
