Boarding Schools for Girls

A decades-old Montana program that helps teen mothers complete their education may be forced to close due to financial difficulties that are affecting the county's public school system.

A June 3 article by Michael Moore of The Missoulian News Online reported on the dire straits facing Sentinel High School's "Young Family" program:

The program, which has been around since the early 1980s, is now threatened by the $1 million budget shortfall in the Missoula County Public Schools.

"We've been going for 25 years, and it would be a tragedy for the girls and their children if we lost it," said Lois Reimers, the Sentinel teacher who directs the program.

The program provides licensed day care for the children of teens, and that's a savior for young mothers, six of whom are now using the program. The children are on campus, so the moms can see them during the day without missing classes.

Amy Rober, who works for a service that provides home learning opportunities for pregnant teens and teen mothers, told The Missoulian that the dropout rate for pregnant high school students is about 80 percent.

Teen pregnancy remains a cause of great concern in the United States, with teen parents facing a number of daunting educational, financial, and developmental challenges.

Labels: education, pregnancy, teenagers

Posted By: Aspen/CRC