Young mothers receive support and strength from New Beginnings

Some things in life are just hard. Like navigating high school. Deciding on a career. Figuring out how to get from one to the other. Parenthood. And when you're hit with all of those things at once, it can be overwhelming.

But it can definitely be done, as shown by the students of New Beginnings in Chaska. It just takes some support, guidance and determination.

"This is just a small detour. It's a bump that could have happened to anybody," said lead teacher Sue Schmidt. "We want to help you move on to bigger and better things."

New Beginnings is an alternative program offered by the Southwest Metro Intermediate School District to help pregnant and parenting students obtain their high school diplomas and develop a plan for whatever they want to do next.

Students come from more than a dozen school districts across the southwest metro, including Jordan, New Prague, Belle Plaine, Prior Lake, Shakopee, Chaska, Eden Prairie, Mound, Minnetonka, Westonka, Watertown and Green Isle.

In addition to attending academic classes, students learn about childbirth and parenting, receive pregnancy counseling and social services support, and can easily access onsite child care. Breast-feeding mothers can feed their babies during the day, whether that means ducking out of a class, or having the baby brought over.

"The teachers here and the child care staff really supported me," said Alicia Villa Perez of Shakopee, who went to New Beginnings in September 2016, when she was 16 weeks pregnant with her son, Diego.

She's graduating at the end of May and has a job as a licensed practical nurse waiting for her. She starts school at Normandale Community College in the fall and plans to become a registered nurse.

"I'm so excited. I'm so happy. I'm so proud of myself," she said.

GETTING TO GRADUATION

While the teachers and staff at New Beginnings are well aware of the difficulties facing their students - which can include homelessness, financial difficulty and family discord, in addition to unplanned pregnancies - they don't allow doubt.

"If I graduate" is reflexively corrected to "when I graduate."

"If I go to college" is automatically amended to "when I go to college."

The corrections are never harsh, but they are relentless.

"Without a high school diploma, you're at a higher risk of poverty, and we don't want that for our students," Schmidt said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, only about 50 percent of teen mothers receive a high school diploma by their 22nd birthday. For teens who give birth at 17 years old or younger, that percentage drops to 38 percent.

New Beginnings' graduation rate, by contrast, is 85 percent. Second pregnancies before graduation are extremely rare and birth weights are usually higher than average - both indicators of future success, Schmidt said.

"NB set a standard for me as to what kind of parent and citizen I am going to be whether I am a single mom or not," a former New Beginnings' student wrote to her teachers. "I am actually dreaming bigger now? and it feels amazing."

Past participants in the program have gone on to become corporate executives, paralegals, teachers, childcare providers, accountants, dental hygienists, pharmacy technicians and nurses. Some forged careers in social services, nonprofits, construction, criminal justice and technology, though the majority go into medicine, Schmidt said.

"I like to take care of people," said Villa Perez, who is becoming a nurse. "And a lot of people have cared about us, too - me and Diego. I just want to give something back."

WHATEVER IT TAKES

When Schmidt visits students at home after they give birth, she makes sure to bring along their schoolwork, so they won't fall too far behind. But she goes above and beyond that, soothing colicky babies and holding them for hours, so mothers have time to work, Villa Perez said.

"But the most important thing is: Are you attaching to your baby. Are you falling in love?" Schmidt said.

In the 1990s, the program supported as many as 70 girls a year. During the 2017-2018 school year, New Beginnings served 45. Next year, the school year will start with just over a dozen young mothers and is expected to serve about 30 over the course of the year, Schmidt said.

Pregnancy rates have reach record lows both nationally and statewide since New Beginnings opened its doors nearly 40 years ago. But it's important to maintain support for young women facing unexpected pregnancies, she said.

Transportation remains a major issue for students who would benefit from the program, said Cindy Walters, director of alternative programs.

"It's an amazing program," Walters said. "There's not a lot of teen pregnancy resources, especially with a strong parenting program, to make sure that the whole package is delivered."

In the 1990s, one student had no way to get to New Beginnings until a teacher arranged to pick her up each morning. More recently, a student from Green Isle had to wait outside the building from 6 a.m. until the building opened at 7 a.m., because that was the only time she could get a ride from her father, Schmidt said.

Even when public transportation is available, it can be extremely difficult to navigate with a newborn, she said.

New Beginnings students joined Superintendent Darren Kermes to testify before the Minnesota House Education Finance Committee on a bill that would allow districts to help pregnant and parenting students with transportation, without getting penalized by state reimbursement rules, according to the House Public Information Service.

"The moms feel isolated and they stress about having to find a ride to school every day and thinking about all the things that they'll miss in class and whether they will graduate or not," Briana Serrano testified.

"They don't learn parenting skills and their children miss out on a chance to be in a developmentally appropriate setting where they will have a much better chance for a good start in school and in life," she said.

When Serrano first found out about New Beginnings, she was surprised they had child care available. Despite the support of the program, she dropped out of school for nearly a year after her daughter was born. Taking care of a newborn, working and going to school was just too much of a strain.

But she came back to the program in December and is graduating this May. She plans to attend Minneapolis Community and Technical College in the fall to become a pharmacy technician and has an internship lined up for the summer, Serrano said.

"They have been a really big help," she said. "I'm just so grateful."

New Beginnings also offers programming for young fathers, "Just to get them on board about what's the role they play as a father... It's about being there for your child," Schmidt said.

But only three to four choose to participate at any given time. A past fathers' group drew six to eight at a time, but has since disbanded. Interest is limited, as is funding for outreach programs to engage fathers, she said.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

Schmidt and her fellow instructors are relentless when it comes to finding support for students and forging community partnerships, Walters said.

A partnership with the Diaper Bank of Minnesota provides diapers to students with babies, saving them hundreds of dollars a year.

"If you have a baby with sensitive skin, diapers cost $20 a week, easily. If they get diarrhea... Where are you going to get that money if you don't even have a job? You have to hope your parents are going to help," Schmidt said.

In addition, 5 to 10 percent of New Beginnings' students live independently, often supporting themselves, she said.

Carver and Scott County public health nurses and social workers support and county partnerships provide mental health services. A retired teachers association has held baby showers to collect gifts for the young women in the program.

When more students were driving, Westwood Community Church in Excelsior held "oil change Fridays" to help with car maintenance. Bundles of Love gives each new mom a diaper bag full of hand-made necessities.

Grace Church in Chaska brings over a cake every month for shared birthday celebrations and coordinates with New Beginnings in a mentorship program.

"It connects the girls with someone to walk alongside them and be their cheerleaders," Schmidt said. "You need other support systems in the community... it's important to have these other adult connections and people wanting good things to happen for you."

The students can opt out, if they want, but many thrive with the additional support, she said.

The Daughters of Isabella, from Guardian Angels Catholic Church in Chaska, host regular clothing drives and donate fabric to stock a craft room at New Beginnings, which students have access to, along with sewing classes.

It goes beyond making hats and pajamas for their babies, giving the girls access to a creatively fulfilling and calming activity as they adjust to life as both a mother and a student, Schmidt said.

The organization also throws a Mother's Day luncheon for the girls each year, which gives them a chance to interact with the girls and their children.

"The hardest job you'll ever have is being a mom. And the best job," said Sam Lano, who organized the brunch almost a decade ago.

Most of the women are mothers and grandmothers, and excited to share tips parenting tips or discuss due dates, name choices, where to shop for baby clothes, and little quirks - one baby likes to grab onto the hand of whoever is feeding or holding her. Another enjoys humming.

"She might become a singer," Schmidt suggested.

Although only time will tell, anything is possible.