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The main educational issue that needs to be addressed for expectant and parenting young families is school completion. Teen births are strongly linked to dropping out of high school.1 Only about half of teen mothers attain their high school diploma by the time they are 22 years old, compared to about 90 percent of women who do not give birth while they are a teenager.2 Teen fathers are less likely to graduate high school than male adolescents who are not expecting and are not parenting. Research has found that teenage fathers who participate in childcare and have “breadwinning responsibilities” are more likely to graduate high school.3
Dropping out of high school because of teen pregnancy and parenting can lead to a number of issues including reduced earning potential, lack of development in employment skills, and a higher likelihood of living in poverty. These setbacks can lead to problems for the entire family, especially for the child and their physical, social, and cognitive outcomes. Children who are born to teenage mothers are more likely to have lower educational achievement outcomes, to drop out of high school, acquire more health problems, become a teen parent, and experience juvenile incarceration and unemployment in adulthood.4
There should be a concerted effort to ensure that an expectant or parenting young family has the resources and support necessary to:
- Graduate high school or complete their GED; and
- Complete post-secondary education, vocational training, and/or attain employment at a livable wage.5
School-based interventions have been shown to help improve school retention in this population, facilitate meaningful relationships between teens and program staff, and provide comprehensive services that are easily accessible.6 The following types of programming have been found to be effective in increasing the rate of high school completion or receiving a GED:
- vocational training,
- alternative schooling,
- social-emotional skills training,
- college-oriented programming,
- mentoring and counseling,
- supplemental academic services,
- school and class restructuring, and
- attendance monitoring and contingencies.7
Resources
Keeping Teen Parents on Track for Graduation
This webpage from the CDC provides a “Public Health Practice Story from the Field” and focuses on the state efforts in Connecticut to keep teen parents in school and graduate from high school. An overview of the initiative, Supports for Pregnant and Parenting Teens (SPPT), is provided as well as the program’s results.
MN Student Parent Support Initiative: Advancing Health and Higher Education for Student Parents
This video describes centers that help Minnesota university and college students with children stay enrolled in school.
New Heights: A Support Network for Expecting and Parenting Teens
This video describes a Washington, DC, program that builds parenting skills and is working to close the achievement gap between young parents and their peers.
Successful Strategies — The E3 Teen Fatherhood Program (PDF, 2 pages)
This web brief from the Office of Adolescent Health covers an example of a successful strategy. The E3 Teen Fatherhood Program in New Hampshire focuses on providing teen fathers support in education, employment, and engagement with their children to help them attain their unique individual goals.
Supporting the Academic Success of Pregnant and Parenting Students (PDF, 34 pages)
This publication from the Department of Education provides an extensive overview of how best to support expectant and parenting young families under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
