The Pennsylvania Department of Education has awarded Neumann a $139,956 Parent Pathways grant for 2025-26.

The grant is part of more than $1.5 million in statewide funding to help Pennsylvania parents achieve their goal of attending college and earning a degree. Parent Pathways grants may support parenting students with tuition assistance, emergency funding, and other services.

According to Sarah Williamson, dean of students, the Neumann grant will focus specifically on childcare services: removing financial barriers for access to child care, facilitating student programming, conducting facilities upgrades to the Child Development Center, and developing a survey and subsequent action plan to support student basic needs.

For student parents who qualify, there are scholarships to assist with the cost of summer camp and academic year childcare at the Child Development Center from June 1, 2025, to May 30, 2026. The costs may cover up to the full weekly amount for summer and the full daily cost for the academic year. Children of student parents need to meet the age qualifications required for enrollment in the Child Development Center.

Student parents attending a June New Knight Orientation session may also register children to participate in a free Little Knight Camp during orientation. The option allows student parents to focus on the orientation sessions while their Little Knights, ages 3-10, spend time in a camp designed just for them.

Other childcare services include specific student-parent programming during Welcome Week, Homecoming, and throughout the year to provide space for student parents to connect and the implementation of a survey that will generate an action plan to better support student-parents at Neumann.

“At Neumann, we understand the unique challenges faced by student parents,” says Williamson. “The Parent Pathways grant provides essential support, from scholarships for preschool to year-round programming, helping student parents balance their academic and family responsibilities with confidence.”

She anticipates that the grant will serve 50-100 student parents during the academic year.