Promising Practices for Helping Pregnant and Parenting Students Succeed

This webinar was held on Nov. 12, 2008.

Pregnancy and parenting responsibilities play a significant role in many girls' decisions to drop out of school. So as part of our ongoing dropout prevention work, the National Women's Law Center hosted a free webinar for educators, service providers, advocates, and individuals that focused on two high school programs that work on helping pregnant and parenting students stay in school:

• Project Opportunity at Bryant Adult Alternative High School in Fairfax, Virginia, offers assistance to pregnant and parenting students, including a block scheduling system that makes it possible for girls to finish their high school courses in half a year instead of a full year. Project Opportunity is one of only two teen parenting programs to have received the Promising and Effective Practices (PEPNet) award.
• New Horizon High School in Pasco, Washington, has a special Teen Parent Program that focuses on removing the many obstacles faced by teen parents through a wide system of supportive services that utilizes a number of community partnerships. Teen parents at New Horizon have a 10 percent higher attendance rate than students in the school's other alternative programs.

The webinar included a discussion about what schools can do to support this population, as well as a brief overview of the requirements of Title IX with respect to the treatment of pregnant and parenting students and some of the ways schools have violated the law.

If you missed the webinar, you can download the materials from the session.

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