Teneshia LeBran’s journey to get her associate degree hasn’t been easy. 

LeBran first enrolled at Hinds Community College in August 2019 to study early childhood education technology. She’s a young, single mother raising five small children — with another baby due in June. She has experience volunteering for Head Start committees in Hinds County, which provides free-early childhood education, nutrition and services to low-income families. She has also had to navigate federal food assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Women, Infants, and Children. 

“I want to open my own day care one day,” LeBran said. 

Different personal challenges led to her starting and stopping her education at Hinds. 

Now, she’s participating in The Learning Circle, or TLC, a pilot program Hinds Community College launched in January to lower barriers students like LeBran face to earning an associate degree or a career or technical certificate. On Tuesday nights, the Learning Circle provides child care and dinner for students. On Thursday nights, students can access tutoring and a computer lab through the program. 

If the pilot is successful, The Learning Circle will continue to expand to the community college’s five other satellite campuses, said Tiffany Moore, dean of students at Hinds’ Jackson campus. 

The college’s Jackson campus is located off Medgar Evers Boulevard and Sunset Drive, in an area Moore described as “surrounded by blight.”

The Learning Center “symbolizes a beacon of hope for many students residing in and around the neighborhood,” Moore said. “It could give one parent the support they need to move forward in life.” 

‘It takes a village’ 

The launch of The Learning Center at Hinds coincides with a time when Mississippi lawmakers and higher education officials are seeking ways to encourage more residents to obtain a degree or credential, which would boost the state’s workforce. 

Nationwide, more than 37.6 million 18- to 64-year-olds have some college but no degree as of July 2024, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. In Mississippi, 349,410 residents — or roughly 12% of the state’s population — have some college but no degree, according to the research center. 

The state’s workforce development agency launched Ascent to 55% in 2023, a plan to get more than half of Mississippi residents the training or education needed to earn a college or degree certificate by 2030. 

As of this month, 48.8% of Mississippians ages 25 to 64 had a degree, credential or industry certification beyond high school, which is slightly lower than the nation’s average of 54.8%, according to the Lumina Foundation.

Research suggests some adult students face obstacles like financial resources, time constraints and work and family obligations when it comes to completing their education. A 2023 report from the nonprofit American Institutes for Research notes that parents who are also adult learners “must consider family expenses in addition to college expenses and make tough decisions about how to spend their time across their academic, work, and family responsibilities.”

Colleges across the country provide wraparound services such as child care, financial support, food and transportation assistance, emergency funding and mental health support, said Maria Cormier, senior research associate at Columbia University Community College Research Center.

“There’s the saying ‘It takes a village,’” Cormier said. “Colleges are now saying, ‘We want to be a part of your village and help students succeed.’” 

Across Mississippi, universities such as Mississippi State, Alcorn State and Jackson State provide resources including on-campus child care for students, faculty and staff. The child care centers operate as educational, licensed facilities for students studying early childhood development. 

Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Harrison County campus, Itawamba Community College and Northeast Mississippi Community College also provide low-cost child care for its parent students. These colleges also have food pantries and service programs students can access through campus and student life offices. 

“I feel it is important that the people in the Jackson community know that we see them and understand their needs and that we will do anything possible to provide them with the same opportunity that people from other areas have,” said Tiffany Gaskins, dean of career and technical education at Hinds Community College, Jackson campus. 

‘It’s convenient for me and my life’ 

This is LeBran’s third time enrolling at Hinds. With only four classes left to finish her associate degree, she hopes to graduate this spring. 

“This program was only supposed to take two years, and here I am, you know, constantly, just starting, stopping, starting, stopping,” LeBran said. “But, I love that I never lost my drive to want to go back.” 

When Tuesday nights roll around, LeBran can feel at ease.

Before participating in The Learning Circle, LeBran took classes online. It was difficult to find babysitters — trusted neighbors or family — to watch her children while she focused on her education.

Now, licensed childcare teachers at The Learning Circle care for her youngest sons on Tuesday nights, which frees up LeBran to attend in-person classes.

“I am someone who has to ask a lot of questions and it’s difficult when you’re doing online classes or thinking about who is going to watch them,”  LeBran said. “Knowing that I am able to bring them with me to class, that is really beneficial. Plus, when class is over, I can just go home and put them to bed.”

Calvin Harris said he was drawn to Hinds’ Learning Circle Series program because he could take courses in welding and cutting technology at night. 

Between 3 a.m to 4 p.m., Harris, 45, works as a sheet metal fabricator and fitter for Steel Service, a manufacturing company in Flowood. After working in the welding industry for 25 years, Harris said the introduction of new machinery and technology like robotics and lasers made him want to brush up on relevant skills. 

“It’s just convenient for me,” Harris said. “You can’t limit your mindset on just being a welder.” 

The Learning Center classes also allow him to impart wisdom to new recruits who enter into his company, he said. 

“The industry is dying out, and it’s hard to get recruits or new candidates to pick up the trade,” Harris said. “But I tell the ones who do come in, they can make a lot of money and travel. This job and these classes can be a way to get their foot in the door to a better life path.” 

By day, Gwen Green works as a substitute teacher in the Vicksburg Warren School District. She drives 30 minutes from Vicksburg every Tuesday to attend a business management technology class at The Learning Center. For Green, 63, the classes are a way to plan for her future and earn a new income after she retires.

She’s learning how to use computer software like Microsoft Word and Excel. She’s also close to retirement and wanted to earn a certificate to start a home-based business filing income taxes for neighbors and write up life insurance as an agent with Prime America. 

“Everyone deserves a second wind at life and this program and these classes help me do that,” Green said. “And my motto is: If you want something, you have to go get it.”