Staying in School in Martinsville

The Martinsville Bulletin (Martinsville, Virginia) had a recent article titled "Teen Pregnancy Targeted" saying that the town of Martinsville has a teen pregnancy rate more than double the state average:

Kizner said that in Martinsville for every 1,000 females aged 15-17, 66 are pregnant (based on live-birth statistics). The state average is 27 out of 1,000. Henry County’s teenage pregnancy rate is 40 out of 1,000. He was quoting statistics for 2006 (the most recent available) from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Sixty-six percent of babies born in Martinsville have unwed mothers, compared with 34 percent for the state and 52 percent for Henry County, he said.

Note that these statistics are for a very narrow range of teens (15-17) instead of ages 13-19, and that they do not distinguish married teens from unmarried teens. It can be hard sometimes to determine if apples are being compared to apples in short quotes like these, but let's assume that the speakers performed their due diligence to provide accurate comparisions.

What I found really interesting is that School Superintendent Scott Kizner is focused on helping these young mothers finish their secondary education so that they are prepared to enter the workforce and help themselves and the depressed Martinsville community! He doesn't berate teens or say that more money needs to be spent on prevention-only. He recognizes that some teens will get pregnant and that helping them finish secondary education helps everyone - the mother, her child(ren), and the community. To this end, he is trying to get help to create flexible education opportunities so that young mothers do not drop out of school simply because they become pregnant.

Does your community have opportunities for your daughter to finish her secondary education? Fairfax County, Viriginia, has an alternative high school and other programs available... what does your county offer?

Finally, Kizner knows that some people will believe “this will encourage teenagers to have babies if we help them too much." What's your opinion on this? Does the presence of social services encourage teens to get pregnant? If help is not present, would that simply raise the abortion rate instead of preventing pregnancy? Is help with education "too much" help for teens? What services would you provide if you were in charge, and what services would you deny? Leave us a comment with your thoughts!