DCPS develops strategies to increase student achievement

The life of 18-year-old Zataunia Heard, a freshman at Trinity College, changed nearly 19 months ago when she discovered that she was pregnant as a senior at McKinley Technology High School in northeast D.C."Pregnancy was the last thing on my mind so I don't know why it happened," said Heard, looking away and allowing herself to drift back to that moment. "I knew I didn't want to keep the baby. It was like how could I?"

Heard was scared to go back to McKinley because everyone there knew her as the good girl, she recalled. "I was thinking about what everybody was going to say and think," she said. "But I wanted to go back because I couldn't go to another school and my mother wasn't going to let me dropout."

Heard's story is hardly an isolated one in the District of Columbia. The D.C. Department of Health Statistics shows that in 2005, the District had 64.4 pregnancies per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19. Ward 8 had the highest reported births to teen moms in 2006, according to Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. The Ward reported 211 births to 15 to 19-year-old mothers. Ward 7 followed with a reported number of 198.

According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, less than half of mothers (40 percent) who have a child before the age of 18 graduate from high school. Statistics like these become the motivation behind bills like the Getting Retention and Diplomas Up Among Today's Enrolled Students Act, also known as The GRADUATES Act.

The bill was introduced to the Senate on August 1, 2007 by Senators Harry Reid (D-AR), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Mark Pryor (D-NV). It strives to create a $500 million secondary school innovation fund to support partnerships that would implement innovative strategies in secondary schools to increase student achievement and prepare at-risk students for posts-secondary education and the workforce.

Possible strategies can consist of career and technical education programs, career academies, early college and dual enrollment, creating more personalized and engaging learning communities, expanding the school day and improving learning capabilities in rural schools. The bill is currently at a standstill.

"In today's economy, an education is more important than it has ever been," said Bill Albert, chief program officer of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. "It's critical that we do what we can to help teen parents stay in school. The question for educators is what we can do to help this person succeed academically?"

The bill mirrors new efforts in the District's public school system, introduced by Education Chancellor Michelle Rhee. Rhee has created an Office of Youth Engagement for at-risk students, including teen mothers. OYE specialists work individually with each student to determine the best learning environment for them.

"We're developing new initiatives for pregnant teens which will be announced in the near future," said assistant press secretary for Rhee, Jennifer Calloway, in a statement. "Our philosophy and programming is guided by the belief that girls who are pregnant should attend school as late as medically advisable before delivery, and come back to school as soon as possible."

The progress of DCPS is being closely observed by community leaders and members.

"The District's public schools do not have a firm policy or procedures in place to support pregnant and parenting teens," said Gloria Mobley, program manager for D.C. Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. "If a pregnant or parenting teen has to leave school, they are treated as a home visitation student."

The home visitation process is not nearly as rigorous nor does it mentor or mirror what is actually going on in the classroom, Mobley stressed.

Donald Isaac, executive director of the East of the River Clergy Police Community Partnership, also argues that school system as a whole does not serve young people well.

"We need intervention efforts," he said, offering his support of the federal bill's mission. Isaac said that when young people do not perform well in school, it leads to juvenile arrests that can cost up to $40,000 per person, per year.

"You could spend a lot less money on the front end for intervention but for some reason, policy makers and legislators in this country have been unwilling to make the commitment to concepts and to follow them," Isaac said.

Heard was determined to buck the statistics. She delivered a baby girl, Zyaire, two weeks before winter break. When school resumed, she went back to McKinley. Not only did she earn her high school diploma, but she also won an annual $3,000 scholarship from Trinity.

Heard attributes the high teen pregnancy rate in the District to an inadequate sex education curriculum.

"They don't talk about preventing pregnancy, or using condoms or birth control," said Heard. "I think it has to do with kids not having the information. The board of education needs to step their game up.