The Poudre School District offers countless resources to students to ensure academic success every single day, from individual help to systemwide support. But one program many may not have heard of has had a tremendous impact on students for the last half-a-century.
The PSD Teen Parent Program is celebrating 50 years of operation this year, with staff and students looking forward to the future of the program as it helps students who are also parents while still in school.
“We do everything we can on a lot of different layers to make sure these students have what they need to be successful in high school and go back to feeling they are not judged, they are not shamed,” said Melissa Schaefer, who currently runs the program. “It is a critical program to support the needs of teen parents in our community.”
Barabara Loy, who was part of the program at its inception in 1975, recently met with current students and staff in the program. She grew emotional seeing old logbooks from the program and letters from old students.
“You don't do this unless you love kids, and you don't do it unless you want them to be able to have choices,” she said.
Loy said she was just a small part of the program, which she described as incredibly important, adding that having choices for students in PSD is needed to show them that they are valued.
“If we can have young people know they can be successful and be proud of themselves and be a contributing member to society and know they aren’t being left behind, that is so important,” she said.
Today, the program’s curriculum combines coursework on pregnancy education, labor and delivery, child development, and positive parenting skills while also providing support for post-secondary readiness and self-sufficiency. It also assists students in collaborating with many community agencies and is a proud affiliate of Realities for Children.
In the last 10 years, the program has evolved. Now housed in a building adjacent to Rocky Mountain High School, the program offers on-site childcare to ensure that students can still attend classes without having to figure out who can watch their child.
“This is multi-generations of lives we can impact,” said Jenni Sifuentes, who also works in the program. “Our students are fantastic and then their babies are going to grow up and be PSD kids. We need all the love and support, and these kids deserve the love and support. They deserve their education, and it is important that we can help support them in getting that.”
The program has weathered tough funding deficits as well. While funding for the childcare center was frozen last year, help from United Way of Larimer County and a substantial donation to the program of $150,000 has helped keep the childcare site open for students.
Current students in the program have described it as a safe space that has taught and helped them a great deal in navigating pregnancy, labor, and parenthood all while handling school.
“This program has changed my life for the better,” one current student said. “Without the wonderful people here who go above and beyond for young mothers like me, I wouldn't have known how to navigate motherhood alone.”