Getting the Three R's While Learning Valuable Lessons of Life
As a teenager, it is often difficult to simply catch the bus for school. For some youth, the added responsibility of being a teen parent makes it even harder to concentrate on homework. For decades, the fully accredited Teen Parenting Program at Erie 1 BOCES Northtowns Academy in Tonawanda has been meeting the challenging needs of pregnant students and teenage parents. The programs raise these teens to new academic heights while also helping them to better raise their children.
"Each January for the past five years, every junior in the Northtowns Academy program has passed their English Regents exam despite their more demanding home life - no small feat considering this benchmark is not expected to be attained until June in a traditional high school setting," says Northtowns Academy instructor, Mrs. Tammy McGovern.
Expecting teen parents to stay the course on their educational goals is a top priority for the Teen Parenting Program. Students in the program are post-secondary education bound, with nine out of 10 students interested in attending college or vocational school.
McGovern instructs an intimate class of 14- to 18-year olds enrolled in the Teen Parenting Program, with an ever-present waiting list. If a female student from within one of the Erie 1 BOCES' 20 component school districts (including Tonawanda, Ken-Ton and Sweet Home) becomes pregnant, she may choose to complete her high school diploma requirements at Northtowns Academy. When the program is completed, the student will receive her Regents or high school diploma that reads the name of her sponsoring home school district. Students in the Teen Parenting Program follow the same school schedule of the general population in high school, but incorporate additional lessons on parenting.
At Northtowns, many speakers from the community donate their time throughout the year to talk on a variety of issues that pertain specifically to teen parents. "On these days, caregivers, students' parents, children's fathers, and sometimes the children themselves, are invited to school to experience first-hand all the information the presenter has to offer. We do not provide day care here, but we do recognize that family members and caregivers play an integral role in our students' lives." says McGovern.
Though some student parents have a tremendous amount of support from home, for many, the home link is either weak or missing altogether. For these students, classroom needs are far greater than simply learning how to bathe a baby or stop a temper tantrum. "I came to realize that the biggest struggles for them begin when they board the bus at 2:15 p.m. So it is very important to me that my classroom has an open and welcoming atmosphere," explains Mrs. McGovern.
Debra Randall, director of alternative education services at Erie 1 BOCES, believes strongly in the program and was instrumental in expanding the staff at Northtowns Academy to include a school social worker and school counselor for the program.
"These programs are successful because every single member of the team is completely dedicated to these students," says Mrs. Randall. "Everyone works together to determine how best to meet each individual student's needs, whether those needs are clothing and food for the baby, or support while working with a hospital social worker when their child is sick, or just a hug to reassure them that things will work out. Our staff always finds a way to meet those needs."
