The ribbon cutting ceremony for the Parent Education Center took place at Wilson High School last Saturday.

After five years of planning, the Santa Clara Unified School District opened the center to provide financially struggling families with clothes, food, toiletries and assistance in finding jobs. The center is a portable building at Wilson with office spaces and a pantry for food.

“Let the center be a place of hope and promise for the families that walk in here,” Superintendent Stanley Rose said.

Some who attended the ribbon cutting ceremony included President of The Board of Education, Andrew Ratermann, Parent Involvement Facilitator, Veronica Navano, and Coordinator of Parent Education, Erin Brown.

Through their contributions, the district was able to gather the funds and resources needed to build the Parent Education Center.

While the 16,000 students in the SCUSD are welcome to use the Parent Education Center, the district’s goal is to help the 6,000 who receive free and reduced lunch.

While providing food for the family can be a burden on financially struggling parents, the stress is also put on the children. The center provides support to make it easier for families to live in Santa Clara.   

“If a family is under stress, how can kids learn?” Jodi Muirhead, an SCUSD board member, said.  “Kids stressing can lead to issues with drugs, alcohol and suicide.”

The center provides families with the basic needs to help students stay in school and continue their education.

“I think the center is such a good idea,” said senior Emma Brown, Erin Brown’s daughter. “It’s very needed because it’s getting so hard to live in Santa Clara.’’

The center will be open three days a week but the exact days are yet to be decided.