From Betsy Keith, Teacher and Program Manager:

The Parenting Education Program at Independence High School provides a daycare for the teens who have children so that they can attend class and graduate. This daycare consists of an infant room serving 6 and a toddler room with a capacity of 8. In addition to the daycare, Parent Support Group meets about once a week to help the teen parents hone their parenting skills, learn life skills, and prepare for postsecondary education. Grant funds have been raised for the last two years to sustain the program. Community organizations like Roswell Woman's Club, Alpharetta Rotary, Northside Hospital Foundation, North Fulton Community Foundation, Roswell Rotary, Ferarri of Atlanta have contributed to the program. Some of these funds are being used to create a new playground for the children in the daycare. The playground is off to a good start with $6,000 in equipment which has been ordered through a Career and Technical Education grant. I am currently researching playground surfacing by consulting with a pediatrician, landscape architect, and others to determine the best surface for our purposes. Our goal is to have the playground in operation by spring of 2009.

The program is enhanced by members of the community and faculty who serve on the Daycare Advisory Board to provide guidance to the program.  Each teen parent has a mentor on the faculty who builds a special relationship with that teen and her child to help ensure her success toward graduation.

My great joy is to see teen parents, who have worked so hard to care for a child, pass their classes, graduate, and go on to postsecondary education. One of my first students in 2001-2002 graduated from Kennesaw State University with a B. S. in Computer Science. Today she is working full time in the computer programming field and is able to provide a great life for herself and her daughter. She will begin working on her Master's degree next year. Nancy Amaro often comments that without the support of the daycare and Parent Support Group, that she never would have finished high school. Making a difference in one teen parent at a time is what we're all about! My vision is to see each teen parent realize his/her potential and receive the support now that he/she needs to accomplish that.

Please visit the following links to the many facets of our program and accompanying photos:

DAYCARE FALL FESTIVAL

DAYCARE PROGRAM: (Includes copy of Participant Guidelines)

PARENT SUPPORT GROUP: (Includes Parent Support Group Calendar)

PRENATAL SUPPORT GROUP: (Includes Prenatal Support Group Calendar)

PARENTING EDUCATION PROGRAM STUDENTS OF THE MONTH

PARENTING EDUCATION PROGRAM GRADUATES

TEEN PARENT RECOGNITION CEREMONY

FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES