Bronx Community College’s Early Childhood Center (ECC) has been awarded nearly $2 million in federal funding to help student-parents access high-quality child care while pursuing their education at BCC.
The four-year award marks the College’s third round of funding through the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) Program, a federal initiative designed to support the participation of low-income parents in postsecondary education through campus-based child care services. BCC will receive $497,666 annually, totaling $1,990,664 over four years, to support its Infant-Toddler Program and 18 student-parent families.
“This funding makes it possible for our student-parents to pursue their education knowing their children are in a safe, nurturing environment right here on campus,” BCC Early Childhood Center Executive Director Jitinder Walia said. “For many of our families, access to high-quality child care is what makes staying in college possible. We have the privilege of watching parents move toward their academic goals while their children learn and grow alongside them.”
BCC student Lesly Pena knows firsthand what that support can mean.
Pena, a Human Services major and mother of two, was born in New York and raised in the Dominican Republic before returning to the Bronx during high school. She first enrolled at BCC in 2015 but left college to work and support herself. A decade later, she returned to BCC – this time as a parent of two young children.
Her younger son, Arell, who will soon turn two years old, attends the ECC’s Infant-Toddler Program and will move into its 2K classroom this fall. “If it was not for the Early Childhood Center, I do not think I would have been able to come back to school,” Pena said. She credits the Center, along with BCC faculty and staff – who she said understand the many responsibilities students may carry outside the classroom – with helping her balance college and parenthood.
Pena recently captured that experience in The Non-Traditional Student, a three-minute film portraying the realities of her daily life as a college student and mother. The film won the Best CUNY award, First Place, at the 2026 Frame Forward Student Video Festival, a CUNY-wide competition celebrating student storytelling through film.
Pena said she wanted her film to show what being a “non-traditional” student really looks like, including the exhaustion and competing responsibilities, as well as the community and resources that help students keep moving forward.
Her experience has also helped shape what she hopes to do next. Pena expects to earn her associate degree in spring 2027 and plans to continue toward a bachelor’s degree. Ultimately, she hopes to work with people with developmental disabilities and help families – particularly within Hispanic communities – better understand and navigate available services and resources.
The latest CCAMPIS award will allow the Early Childhood Center to continue providing that support over the next four years – helping student-parents balance college and family while creating opportunities for two generations to thrive.
About Bronx Community College
The Bronx Community College (BCC) is home to more than 40 academic programs that will prepare you to continue your education at a four-year institution or begin your career. In addition to our high-quality academic programs, we offer you the opportunity to learn from our outstanding faculty, create flexible class schedules and grow with the support of our academic community. A Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), we enroll students from nearly 100 countries. Our campus is also home to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, the country’s first hall of fame. In October 2012, our campus was declared a National Historic Landmark, becoming the country’s first community college campus to receive such a designation.
Featured image credit: DepositPhotos.com
