Teen Parent Resources

TEEN PARENT RESOURCES OVERVIEW
It is my mission to equip my students with resources, so that learning is always possible. For students who are or are expecting to be new parents, they need access to additional resources such as health clinics, online learning, childcare, parenting training, baby supplies, etc. Teen parent programs can give students the support they need to finish high school and attend college. However, unlike public high schools in Washington, D.C., my school does not have a teen parent program. This year, several of my wonderful students are pregnant or are new parents. I found that my school's existing support network is not enough to see these students to and through college. Therefore, I initiated and created partnerships with Edgenuity, my community, and a local organization to provide my students, and all future teen parents at my school, with access to pre and post-natal support.

Please scroll down or click on the table of contents below to learn more about my partnerships and how I provided all students at my school with access to teen parent resources.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Edgenuity Partnership
Community Partnership
Baby Supplies Drive
Organization Partnership
Teacher Reflection

Edgenuity Partnership
Before I partnered with Edgenuity, teachers at my school would place paper copies of missed classwork and homework in a box for student on maternity leave. However, my school is located about an hour away via public transportation from where most of my students live. In addition, students who are new mothers often find it difficult to schedule time to stop by school. As a result, few students would come to pick up missed work, and many earned an incomplete grade for the year. I found that my school's system of collecting paper copies was inadequate access for students on maternity leave.

This year, I discovered and partnered with an online learning platform called Edgenuity that enables my students to have greater access to education from home. Edgenuity is a Common Core Aligned, student-teacher interactive learning platform. Edgenuity provides interactive video lessons, practice material, assessments, and student progress reports. I select lessons aligned with what I'm teaching in the classroom, and tailor the practice material and assessments to the individualized needs of my students on leave. I track my students' progress daily and give them immediate feedback and tutoring through Edgenuity's video and text messaging system. After I became familiar with Edgenuity, I shared the resource with all teachers at my school, so that all students on long term leave now benefit from online access to education. Ever since I provided my students with access to online learning through Edgenuity, no student has earned an incomplete grade.

Community Partnership
During one of my phone calls to a student's guardian, I learned that the family did not have any baby supplies, and the baby was due in two weeks. During a home visit to another teen parent, I learned that the baby was not brought home because they had no baby supplies. 100% of my students qualify for free lunch; however, my school does not have any systems, procedures, or protocals in place to provide our teen parents with baby supplies. There is a great need for access to free baby supplies delivered directly to students' homes. Therefore, I regularly lead and organize community baby supply drives.

​I market the need for baby supplies on several news outlets, reaching thousands of community members. I have received an overwhelming response from my community, as many individuals have offered baby supplies, food delivery, tutoring, babysitting, and other goods and services. Since the start of 2018, I have organized pickups and deliveries of baby supplies from over 40 donors. The community response is so generous, that I am able to provide a complete range of baby supplies not only for my students, but for all students who attend my school. I have used my status as an active member of my community to connect my school with community members who can fund pre-natal and post-natal needs.  Below is the response I received from a single news posting.  

Baby Supply Drive
For students who request baby supplies, I collect and deliver items directly to their homes. I have collected and delivered various items such as cribs, car seats, strollers, swings, bathtubs, diapers, clothes, blankets, toys, books, milk formula, bottles, and much more. The home visits allow me to also check on my students' academic progress on Edgenuity. I have communicated with all school staff that I run regular baby supply drives. Therefore staff members often inform me about teen parents whom I do not directly teach, but who are in need of baby supplies. For students I do not directly teach, I partner with one of their teachers for a home visit. My initiative gives all students at my school access to much needed baby supplies, and allows for our community members to partner with the success of our students and their children. Below are pictures from one of my home visits.

Organizations Partnership
For health care resources, I knew I needed to partner with an outside organization with medical speciality. I found Mary's Center, which provided a CenteringPregnancy program. Mary's Center provides free pre-natal health care and counseling to expectant parents. Focused on holistic care, Mary's Center empowers expectant parents to take charge of their health by teaching them how to assess their own vitals and measurements, and how to manage stress and relationships. The program includes regular health assessments, support groups, delivery classes, and childcare training. Mary's Center is located 15 minutes from my school via public transportation, which allows for expectant students to attend their programs after school hours. Through my suggestion, several of my students are currently attending the CenteringPregnancy program.

Teacher Reflection
Creating points of access to Edgenuity, the local community, baby supplies, and Mary's Center for all students at my school has been one of the highlights of my teaching career. It has been my joy and honor not only to support students through this exciting and challenging stage of life, but also to support their children. My students who are expectant or new parents are incredibly brave, intelligent, and care deeply about continuing their education. The pre-natal and post-natal resources I have provided them access to empower them to persist in earning both a high school and college diploma. I have seen my students grow in independence as they start off by accessing pregnancy and parenting resources through my introduction, but continue to access these resources on their own.

My partnerships have shown me how much those outside of the school setting also care about students. Edgenuity has helped me better track the academic progress of students on leave. I can log into Edgenuity to see exactly which mathematical skills my students have mastered, and which they still need to work on. My local community partnerships include nurses, teachers, pregnancy center staff members, homemakers, and college students. All students at my school now have access to free babysitting, meals, baby supplies, parenting advice, and academic tutoring. While I continue to monitor and am looped in on my students' interactions with community partners, my students are also given direct contact to these partners, so that they can practice self-advocacy. My partnership with Mary's Center provides my students with access to holistic and culturally relevant healthcare. Mary's Center also provides my students with additional time with doctors and parenting lessons, so that students are better prepared for parenthood.