Some public schools have incorporated day care centers into their system to help young mothers continue their education.
Some public high schools offer day care centers for the use of students who have children, as well as teachers and other employees with offspring. Not everyone thinks it is a good idea to supply day care in the public school arena, although those who do support it note that it keeps young mothers in school, which prepares them for future employment so they can support themselves and their children.
Pros
According to The Principals' Partnership, a program for high school principals created by the Union Pacific Foundation, when students have access to a school day care, they are less likely to drop out of school and to end up on welfare.
Learning Experience
One asset of having a day care center in a public high school is that students who are interested in child care and learning about babies and children have the opportunity to interact with them and see for themselves what a huge responsibility it is to care for a child. Some schools' main objective in having a day care center on site is so that students can get firsthand experience and can learn what it would take to operate a day care center themselves.
Outcomes
Those girls who put their babies in school-sponsored day care centers had a lower rate of repeat pregnancy, or 12 percent compared to 40 percent for those girls who did not have this option available or did not take advantage of it. A Yale University School of Nursing study by Lois S. Sadler, et al, published in the March 2007 edition of "Journal of School Health" found that these young mothers actually had an improvement in overall grade point average after giving birth and putting their babies in the day care center.
Considerations
Pregnant girls and young mothers are allowed to continue school in most cases, although that was not the case in the past. However, even some schools that encourage these girls to continue their education can be quite hesitant to address teen pregnancy and motherhood issues because of societal and personal beliefs and values. Schools may also be reluctant to provide day care services to the students for the same reason. It can be a touchy situation. Some parents may object to having such a facility in the school for fear that it condones teen pregnancy or that it will encourage young girls to become pregnant because they know they can utilize the center and continue attending school.
Cost
If the cost of setting up a day care center is prohibitive for a school, it can include the children of its employees to justify and offset the cost.
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