SUNY Niagara offering free course to parents in Niagara Falls School District

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) -- SUNY Niagara is partnering with Niagara Falls City Schools for a second time to offer a free college course for parents whose children are enrolled in the district.

There are parents who dream of going back to school to get a college degree, but having children to raise and the cost of tuition can be deterrents. This new course is looking to help make those dreams come true.

The course, English 102: Writing and Introduction to Literature, teaches enhanced writing skills and introduces students to the study of literature. Adults enrolled in the course are considered part of SUNY Niagara, so they are also given all of the same resources as a college student.

According to Tammy Bruno, the assistant vice president of academic affairs at SUNY Niagara, adult students make up a third of the undergraduate student population in the United States. Among those adult students, many are also parents, which is why the schools are offering free childcare while the course takes place.

"Nearly every student enrolled in our first cohort of this program used the childcare resource," Bruno said. "They were able to bring their children with them to class, get them situated, come up to class and really focus on their coursework because they weren't worried about how they were going to meet this need for childcare."

Mark Laurrie, Niagara Falls City School District's superintendent, said one of the biggest reasons why the schools chose to partner together and hold this free course is to benefit the children. Laurrie explained that while the parents might be the ones in the classroom, the success of moms and dads has a healthy impact on how their children will learn.

"Research will show you that oftentimes the level of educational achievements of a child's mother is a direct indicator of how well a child will do. We engage the fathers as well and we have some grandparents that come," Laurrie said. "Any time you can raise the educational level of the family, starting with the mom or dad, you're going to get a direct result to the child that we service."

Enrolling in the course is being described as a risk-free opportunity for parents to dip their toes into the water and see if they enjoy college. Bruno said the pressure is reduced because regardless of the outcome, there are benefits for everyone.

"They don't have to worry about the financial piece, childcare or transportation," Bruno said. "They can really focus on schoolwork and decide if they are ready to take another course. For every student that took the first set of courses we offered, the answer was yes."

Classes will be held on Mondays from July 8 through August 29 at Bloneva Bond Primary School. To register for the course, call the school at (716) 278-5860.