One school in Texas is helping pregnant teenagers to have a safe place to go where they can raise their children, without sacrificing their education.
Lincoln Park High School in Brownsville, Texas, is described as a “school of choice,” designed to give pregnant and parenting teenagers the ability to get their high school diploma while still parenting. One student, Helen, spoke to the BBC about her experience, which began with an unexpected pregnancy at 15. Her friends abandoned her, the father of her child shunned her, and she eventually decided to switch schools.
“It used to just be me; now I have to think about me and my baby,” she said. Though she had originally considered abortion, she decided against it — and once she saw her daughter, realized that adoption wasn’t an option for her, either. “My baby is the best thing that happened to me. I have the love of my life in my hands, she’s everything for me.”
Helen’s daughter, Jennie, is one of many infants cared for at the on-site daycare center, located right next door to the main campus building. Some of the students take their children to class with them, too. The students there are between the ages of 14 and 19, and all of them are Latina. Seventy students attend the school now, although that number varies.
The curriculum at Lincoln Park is the same as other schools in the district, and students are expected to pass their classes like any other student. They have concessions to allow their students to succeed. For example, the daycare is free, and buses have car seats for their babies. Absences are excused for doctor’s appointments, and some teachers have things like baby clothes available for their students.
Another student, Alexis, said Lincoln Park gave her the opportunity to continue her education when she didn’t see a way forward. “It was so hard on me,” she said. “I didn’t want to drop out because I knew it wasn’t the correct way to handle it.”
The staff is there to help them, from navigating college to learning life essentials. “They don’t know how to raise a baby sometimes. We hold their futures in our hands as educators. We have to do this the right way,” the principal, Cynthia Cardenas, said, adding, “Not a lot of school districts offer schools like this. If you ask me, is it needed? Yes. Even if we can make a difference in 10 girls lives, yes. These are girls who wouldn’t make it through a regular campus.”
Teen pregnancy is often framed as something that will ruin a girl’s life, though schools like Lincoln Park can serve as the opportunity to have a bright future, while still raising a child. Teen mothers aren’t incapable of learning and succeeding — they just need a little extra flexibility and help from an education system that isn’t going to leave them behind.
