32 Stops on the Bus

This is the journey that one mom makes to drop her child off at an early childhood education center. 32 stops to get home. 32 stops to come pick up in the afternoon. 32 stops to get home.

Check my math, but that sounds like at least 128 stops on the bus every day. Just to get care for one child.

My organization, Mainspring Schools, at the end of that bus ride, was this mom’s closest option.

A sense of her story: a series of family tragedies (beyond her control) left her new to Austin, single parenting, and unhoused. The rules of her temporary shelter gave her 90 days to find a job and childcare or face eviction.

Those who know the childcare ecosystem in Austin just gasped out loud. I heard you.

90 days?!?

Surely that’s a joke.

Nope.

There are 4,995 children on the waitlist right now for income-based childcare scholarships – just for Central Texas! It works out to a delay of at least 24 months. For families who already have an active scholarship authorization, there is a waitlist for siblings, who, up until this year, have been easily added when they enroll in early education or after-school care.

Of the licensed centers in Austin that accept state childcare scholarships, 94% have waitlists. It is almost impossible for low- to moderate-income families to snag a childcare spot at all.

This mom, figuring out everything on her own, had just 90 days.

Somehow, she found Mainspring. She called our Director of Family Services, Anisha, who recognized the seriousness of the situation and what was at stake. When we talk about 2-gen services, this is what we mean: the whole family. It’s not just about a spot for a baby, like we’re managing inventory. This is about saying yes in a situation when a parent has been consistently told no; this is about, as Anisha says, being able to step into the light.

Just to be clear, Mainspring Schools isn't the light. We are some folks with the capacity to prop open the door. In this instance, the parent had the bandwidth, strength, focus, determination, and grace to put one foot in front of the other and keep going through it.

Just to be direct and upfront, our waitlist (across age groups) is 500 people long.

Sorry if you’re on it. It’s a real drag.

Our waitlist is mission-oriented, not linear.

As the first school in the nation to be built within a federal housing project, and as a school headquartered in the Meadowbrook community, one of our priority groups is families who live in public and affordable housing. In fact, 20% of our students and 20% of our staff live in these communities. That is our strength: lived experience.

Thanks to our innovative partnership with Child, Inc., 32 of our 48 infant and toddler spots are reserved for families who qualify for Early Head Start (EHS). While income-based state childcare scholarships are for families up to 200% of the federal poverty threshold, EHS is for those who live below it.

When Our Mother of 32 Stops on the Bus called, we had an open EHS spot for an infant.

We can’t always meet the need. This time, we could.

Every morning, the whole family leaves their temporary shelter. Each child gets to their activity for the day. Then Mom takes the bus 32 stops to Mainspring. She leaves her baby in the care of a committed team who know what they are doing, who are brain builders.

She has access to a food pantry, personal supplies, diapers, formula, clothing, bus passes, and deep, lasting connection.

And then she goes to work.

One stop at a time. One foot in front of the other.

Each step another a brick in the foundation, another inch of growth, a valuable contribution to Austin’s social and economic infrastructure.

I am sharing her story and photograph with her permission. Here are some of her words:

“Every day that I’m on the bus and I see other people, single moms and single fathers with children, they’re on the bus as well. It reminds me that I no longer just think of just myself. There’s always someone else going through the same struggles, or worse struggles. They remind me. They help me as a single parent to keep persevering, to stay strong.

It takes a lot to walk through these doors. A shelter. A food pantry. An organization like this. I see stuff in myself – I know I am a strong person.

This is just a piece of board on the fence. It’s broken. Once you get to the destination that God has set for you, you pick that board up, you fix it, you paint it, you put it back together.”

To use this mom’s analogy, high-quality early education is one piece of the fence.

It is also the central pillar of Mainspring’s model.

But in order to affect systemic inequities, we must bring a systemic approach. A whole-house approach. A full foundation. That’s why Mainspring’s other two pillars are wraparound caregiver supports and comprehensive wellness programs, including nutrition, outdoor curriculum, trauma-responsive teacher training, and professional development.

Want to be part of it?

Click here to make a donation.

$50 gives a family a bus pass or a gift card for gas

$100 gives a curious child one full year of fine arts instruction

$250 provides a year of training for an early educator

$500 gives an entire classroom a year of STEM materials

$1000 offers parents a month of crucial case management and counseling.

Or – help restock our family food pantry.

Reach out to me directly to bring your team to volunteer.

Thank you for being one plank in our fence – one stop on the bus – one part of our foundation for children and families across Austin.