by Kim Hilsenbeck
May 1 was the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. That was a little late to help graduating high school seniors like Jackie Carey, 18, who has a six-month-old daughter, Ellie. Or Viviene Dominguez, 17, whose daughter is two. Or Rebecca Gutierrez, 18, who is raising her 11-month old daughter Joanna.
These girls, along with about 13 others from Hays CISD’s three high schools, will graduate this week with their respective senior classes. But on May 29 they spent the evening at a pre-graduation ceremony for the Hays CISD Pregnant and Parenting (PEP) program. PEP aims to prevent students who are pregnant or who have children from dropping out of school. Each of the three high schools has a PEP Center and child daycare facility.
The PEP staff helped the students celebrate their accomplishments along with their families, friends and children, whether already born or waiting to be.
The soon-to-be graduates, girls and boys, each had an opportunity to speak to the audience, comprised of teachers, counselors, families and two Hays CISD board members. Each graduate thanked their families, faculty and the PEP Center staff.
Jackie, the Live Oak Academy Honor Graduate, believes, like many of her fellow PEPers, she would not have completed high school if it hadn’t been for the PEP program.
During her moment in the spotlight, Jackie thanked her mom, Renee Carey, for all her support and help over the past year. She got up to speak to the audience, carrying Ellie to the podium. PEP Center Director Katie Campbell held the baby while Jackie spoke.
Jackie acknowledged her mom’s unwavering support as well.
“And there’s one more person I would like to thank and that would be my mom. She’s been by my side through all of this. And she’s been in the same position as all of us and we have accomplished so many things together. And I know she’ll be there, by my side, for a very, very long time and she won’t ever give up on me. She gives me the encouragement that I needed to push through everything that I’ve accomplished this year. Thank you.”
What was it like having a baby in high school?
Dominguez said, “It was pretty hard but, I mean, you gotta get through it I guess.”
She said the PEP program was really awesome.
“I don’t think I would have gone anywhere if I didn’t have the PEP program, because I would always be missing school,” she said. “I don’t even think I would be here or anything right now.”
Dominguez wants to continue her education at ACC to become a nurse practitioner.
Her mother, Leticia Saldivar, had high praise for the PEP program and Katie Campbell in particular.
“If it hadn’t been for her, (Viviene) wouldn’t be where she is now. My husband and I, we’re very proud of her,” she said, glancing at her daughter. “She struggled there for a while. Ms. Katie (and the other staff members) were really helpful with her and they got her up there. She was just way down there and they got her up.”
Dominguez’s advice for other high school girls, pregnant or otherwise, was that the most important thing is to stay in school.
“Life’s a climb but, you know, I think anybody can get there if they try. You just gotta try.”
For Rebecca Gutierrez, 18, raising her 11-month-old daughter Joanna while attending high school full-time was a challenge.
What’s it like being a mom and going to high school?
“It’s hard but having her it’s like an accomplishment that I do my stuff for her, not for myself,” she said. “And like whenever since I found out I was pregnant like I never thought of you know, like, most girls drop out of school. And I thought, ‘I’m not going to be that girl. I’m going to graduate.’ I’m going to be the fourth girl graduating from high school in my family.”
She plans to attend cosmetology school, get experience in a salon and someday open her own business.
Gutierrez’s advice to other young girls who find themselves pregnant in high school is to keep going.
“They should graduate and not just drop out of school and go work like in a fast food place,” she said. “It’s better for graduating to have your diploma because you’ll have more chances to success.”
Gutierrez said the PEP program helped her a lot.
“I would always ask them for help and like they would be there for everything. They would push me to do stuff, like if I would ever like want to be like, ‘I want to give up,’ and they were like, ‘don’t give up, do it for your kid,’” she said.
According to Ruth Roberts, Hays CISD Wellness Coordinator, the district uses a sex education and health approach called “abstinence plus,” which promotes abstinence but provides teens with information, data and resources dealing with sexually transmitted diseases, birth control and community resources.
Resources:
• StayTeen.org
The goal of Stay Teen is to encourage adolescents and teens to enjoy their teen years and avoid the responsibilities that come with too-early pregnancy and parenting.
The site’s Stay Informed page reads, “The more you know about issues like sex, relationships, waiting, and contraception, the better prepared you will be to make informed choices for your future. We’re not telling you how to live your life...we just want to give you some food for thought and the latest facts. It’s up to you to make your own smart decisions.”
The site also offers some facts about teen pregnancy:
• Nearly 3 in 10 teen girls in the US will get pregnant at least once before age 20
• Good relationships don’t just happen—they require hard work and practice
• Less than half of teens in high school have had sex
• A couple who has sex without using condoms or any other kind of contraception (birth control) has an 85% chance of getting pregnant within a year
• About 3 million teens get a sexually transmitted infection every year
• 1 in 5 teens who’ve been in a serious relationship report being hit, slapped, or pushed by their partner.
