High School Offers Maternity Leave for Teen Moms

[Honeykiss1974]

Students get 2-month maternity leave


By CELESTE KATZ
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER


Melinda, 16, expects to return to East Harlem school soon. She gave birth to daughter Eurycides in November.

Teen moms are getting maternity leave.
For the first time, high school and middle school students who have a baby will get a two-month excused absence from class, thanks to a new Department of Education policy.

"If a staff member had a baby and was about to deliver, they would go on maternity leave. So why not have the same thing for students?" said Bernard Gassaway, senior superintendent for alternative schools and programs.

But the schools are going most employers one better - students not only get sanctioned time off, they'll get some help.

The Ed Department plans to send social workers and nurses to check on new moms and babies in their homes. And schools are sending classwork home so students can keep up.

Gassaway said he hopes the new policy keeps more young mothers from dropping out.

[Honeykiss1974]

Why did I just notice that the "maternity leave" includes MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS !!

[tld221]

yeah, middle school students?! thats nasty. but face it, this is happening. and im gonna give props to NYCBOE. they shouldve been sending work home to the new mothers so they can keep up. now, if the mother decides she doesnt want to, then that's where u cut the rope.

it beats h.s dropouts rates on the rise, and crowded GED classes/night school/ 5year seniors

of course, you ask yourself, where do u draw the line? you dont want to seem like u condone teen pregnancy.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

I remember reading that the number one reason a girl drops out is due to pregnancy. Hopefully, this will prevent that.

[FeeFee]

I read the article earlier this week and was having mixed feelings about it. I guess in the end it all comes down to the fact that these teenage mothers do need to complete their education despited their situations.

[PrettyPetite]

WE've had something similar to this in Miami for quite some time...

http://copecenternorth.dadeschools.net/

[nikki1920]

I applaud the idea, but I feel that giving the girls 2 months is a bit extreme. They should be encouraged to remain in school, but I feel that an inschool day care center would be better. Staying at home may give some girls the opprotunity to get pregnant again..just my opinion.

[ClassyLady]

I have mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, I think it is a good idea for teen moms to be given a little break but on the other hand, it does seem a little "encouraging" to me.

In my school district, pregnant girls had the option of attending a separate school designed just for them. They started when they were six months along and returned to their regular school when the baby was three months old. There were nutrition and child care classes as well as a day care center. I like the separate school a little better than the maternity leave.

[aephi alum]

MIDDLE school??



Well, if it will keep teenage moms in school, then that's good. You shouldn't have to give up on your hopes and dreams, including finishing high school, just because some guy knocked you up.

I like the idea of a separate school with a day care and classes on child care in addition to a "traditional" curriculum. I'd say, send the fathers too. A father's responsibility to his child does not end at conception!

[Strive]

Originally posted by nikki1920
I applaud the idea, but I feel that giving the girls 2 months is a bit extreme. They should be encouraged to remain in school, but I feel that an inschool day care center would be better. Staying at home may give some girls the opprotunity to get pregnant again..just my opinion.

I agree with you soror. In-school day care center will benefit the mother and child better.

[exquizit]

Originally posted by nikki1920
I applaud the idea, but I feel that giving the girls 2 months is a bit extreme. They should be encouraged to remain in school, but I feel that an inschool day care center would be better. Staying at home may give some girls the opprotunity to get pregnant again..just my opinion.

Well you and I both know from experience that it takes 6weeks to recover from giving birth. But I have mixed feelings about it too. I guess you all know by now that I had brat my senior year in high school, but I too recieved an excused "leave" so I could finish with out penalty. The catch was that I had to continue my work at home by recieving assignments each week. Sort of like independent study. I don't want to give kids the impression that it's OK to get preggo so early, but the fact remains that it's happening. I feel in a way this will make those girs that do find themselves in such a situation realize that all hope isn't lost and education is still and option. I caught hell tryin to complete homework and all but I did it, and I'm glad my high school didn't turn it's back on me.

[ykimber]

When I was in middle school some 10 years ago there were plenty of girl who were having babies at 12 and 13. When I got to high school my school had an in school day care to accomodate the students. There had to be at least 30-35 children in the day care.

I know this one girl who got pregnant while we were in 7th grade had the baby while we were in 8th grade and by the time our freshman year of high school rolled around she was pregnant with her second!

[CrimsonTide4]

When I taught in Ohio, we had a program for the moms. IT was not in place until my second year there. It was run by a teacher who started with the girls in prenatal, worked with the students, any siblings, parents, etc. When they were out having their baby, we sent assignments to this teacher who delivered them to the students. She also requested biwieekly progress reports. Also when the girls were out in general, she let us know and requested assignments. She kept track of the girls and if the father was a student at the school as well (not too many were ) they were involved as well.

But she did not stop with pregnancy, if you were a mom or expectant mom, you were in the program.

When I was in high school, there was GRADS which was run very similiar to the aforementioned program.

The high school that I did my student teaching at had a nursery in the basement of the school. I don't remember too much about it but I had a student who was a mom and she said that if they were tardy so many times in a semester, day care privileges were suspended.


I believe there needs to be as many programs as necessary for expectant parents PERIOD in high school, middle school, and yes elementary school too. Young women are having periods younger and younger every day. Programs need to involve the students, teachers, social workers, and parents as much as possible. I am in favor of the maternity leave (their bodies need to heal too and they need to bond with their babies as well) and day care in the schools.

[ykimber]

CT4, I think that is the program (GRADS) we had at Johns Adams my freshman year of High school. I know we had GRADS at South High while I was there for 10-12th grade. I didn't really find out what GRADS was until my 11th grade year. I must have been naive because before I found out what it was I wanted to take the class!

[SummerChild]

Originally posted by tld221
yeah, middle school students?! thats nasty. but face it, this is happening. and im gonna give props to NYCBOE. they shouldve been sending work home to the new mothers so they can keep up. now, if the mother decides she doesnt want to, then that's where u cut the rope.

I agree tld!
It's a great idea to send work home with the mothers so that they can keep up. I have had a few experiences with teen mothers and for the most part, they have to just miss classes the 9th month or so and for some time after the baby is born. That's problematic not only b/c she is missing instruction but in many cases, if she exceeds the number of days out of school for the school year, she will not be able to move on and will have to repeat the grade.

We don't want to encourage teenage pregnancy but I think that this program is good in that it at least allows the mother an opportunity to miss classes and presumably makeup the work. The alternative that I have also seen is the young women going back to school in two weeks! And, of course, this is not very
healthy for the mother.

I would add that the schools should take a *pro*active stance as opposed to *re*active and consider giving the high schoolers information on adoption, abortion, and birth control, and sexually-transmitted diseases and the way that HIV/AIDS is ravaging our community (and is even becoming widespread for AA teens in high school - we have one high school in Chicago that has a relatively high HIV/AIDS percentage - we have got to get the word out to our youth as well as adults). I say all of this about HIV/AIDS because our youth are obviously exposing themselves to sexually-transmitted diseases if we have even one teen pregnancy.

SC