Since launching Bard Microcollege Holyoke in 2016, we have learned so much about how to support young mothers as they pursue a college degree.
When students faced unforeseen childcare issues, our college counselor helped them secure care and ensure their semester was not interrupted. When we learned students were coming to class hungry, we incorporated nourishing meals and snacks into the program. After discovering that many students were using their cell phones to type papers, we raised additional funds to purchase Chromebooks. When it became clear that our current facility lacked an adequate space for students to study and socialize between classes, we converted an unused space in our basement into a student lounge along with two additional classrooms and office space for Bard staff. All of these improvements came about because The Care Center was able to respond nimbly and strategically as issues arose.
As we entered the college’s second year and completed the program’s third round of admissions, we identified another challenge – not one affecting students who are in the program but one that has prevented students from starting. We found that for some highly qualified students, the fulltime nature of the Microcollege is (temporarily) a barrier to entry. Whether it is a commitment to a paying job or small children, many graduates are unable to drop everything in order to enroll fulltime.
For these women, we have launched an intensive four-credit writing course, akin to a freshman writing seminar. The course will serve as a bridge to the Bard College degree, allowing students remain academically engaged even when their schedules or other circumstances prevent them from enrolling in a fulltime academic program. Those who complete the writing course will earn four college credits that will serve as the starting point for their Bard degree.
This writing intensive class will help students hone writing and close reading skills. Half of each class will be devoted to reading and analyzing together a range of writing, from current newspaper and magazine articles, to historical examples of the personal essay (Michel de Montaigne, Virginia Woolf) to contemporary fiction and poetry (Lydia Davis, Toni Morrison). The other part of the class will be devoted to the practice of writing, through short writing exercises and experiments. Students will also complete more sustained writing assignments outside of class.
Borrowing from the successful Clemente Course model, the writing course will be team-taught by Pam Thompson and Liza Birnbaum.
Pam Thompson
Pam Thompson is the director of The Care Center’s Clemente Course in the Humanities. She received her B.A. in women’s studies and literature at Yale College, and her M.F.A. in fiction writing from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She came to the Pioneer Valley from New York City, and like many students who come here for school, she never left. Thompson is a published author and teaches writing at Smith College. For many years, she worked as a book editor, specializing in literature from around the world and contemporary politics.
Liza Birnbaum
Liza Birnbaum is The Care Center’s poetry teacher. She received her M.F.A. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Program for Poets and Writers. She grew up in New Mexico and spent time alongside the Hudson River (where she attended Bard College), in rural Wyoming, and in Portland, Oregon, before settling into life in the Pioneer Valley. Her writing has been published in Web Conjunctions, Open Letters Monthly, and Rain Taxi, and she is a founding editor of Big Big Wednesday, an annual print journal of literature and visual art.
