Although teen pregnancy has become an issue province and nationwide, teachers and administration at R. D. Parker Collegiate have put a program into place that looks to accommodate teen mothers and encourage their success.
Melissa Wakeling, Treena Kuhl and Larry Howe made a presentation to the board of directors of the School District of Mystery Lake at its last meeting on Nov. 24. They filled the board members in about what the teen mom program is, who its community partners are and how many students it is currently helping.
Howe says this is the first year that R. D. Parker has formalized the teen mom program, but he says the school has been very involved with teen mothers for a long time now, making it a leader in all of Manitoba for its work with that particular set of students.
Prior to starting the program, Howe says that the committee that set it up researched other teen parent programs and tweaked them to make a program all their own, partnering with the Futures Program in Thompson.
"Our primary goal is to work as a team with young moms to help them achieve an education as well as offer support when issues arise that may interfere with young people achieving their goals and dreams," Howe explains. The program also assists young parents in connecting with organizations such as the RCMP, legal aid or social services. On-site counselling is offered at the school along with a pre-natal program put on by Baby's Best Start.
Howe says it's important to make sure the programing for young parents is flexible and will allow them to be successful even if they have to miss school from time to time.
There are currently around 13 students enroled in the teen mom program at R. D. Parker. The young parents take their core classes, such as English and mathematics, together, and can also elect to take other courses together as a group. One class per semester of Grade 12 consumer math and English always have spots left open for mature students or mothers who are pregnant or have children and have not registered to take classes in June. They also have the option to take world issues, current topics and science in a format that can be run in separate modules with one course going each semester. According to Howe, this togetherness empowers them and helps pave the road to success.
"Ideally, the core classes for these young women are structured so that if they are not successful in semester one, they can continue on into semester two to complete their credit," Howe explains. "Not all of our students will graduate but we have got them into the building. Not all successful results can be measured in graduation rates; however, historically we have been very successful as about 25 per cent of last year's graduates came through our adapted programs."
Howe says it's wonderful to see the teen moms who take part in the program really taking a vested interest in creating a better future for themselves and their children, and realizing the importance of education in their lives.
The teen mom program is also looking at introducing a senior physical education class that would promote healthy lifestyles for teen moms.
