Roughly 4,500 male and female student parents participated in a Pennsylvania program last year where case workers helped them balance school and child care. Nearly 1,300 graduated or received an equivalent, state officials said. The ELECT program, which started in 1990 as a partnership between state child welfare and education officials, monitors students' attendance, coordinates summer programs and links them with support systems in the community.
Florida allows pregnant and parenting students to receive homebound instruction and lays out a clear process to make up missed work. The state also gives those students the option of taking online classes.
In St. Johns County, where Gonzalez lives, the school district provides free day care for teen moms and bus transportation for students and their children.
Pregnant students are often stereotyped as low-achievers, but advocates say pregnancy actually motivates some to do better in school.
Gonzalez, whose daughter is now 2, said her grades improved after she became pregnant.
"I did push myself a lot harder and I made sure that I wasn't going to be that statistic," said Gonzalez, who is now married and pursuing a nursing degree.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Reader Comments (