"Young Parents Program"

This article tells the story of Jenna de la Cruz who became pregnant at 15 and hid her pregnancy from her parents for a time even though friends at her junior high school knew about the pregnancy. Jenna eventually enrolled in a program for pregnant teens which helped her focus on her high school studies.

Now 17, she graduated a year early and has two scholarships waiting, one to enroll at Salt Lake Community College and another for her planned transfer to the University of Utah, where she hopes to study to become a teacher. She has no regrets about keeping her child.

That special school has a high school graduation rate of 74%, which is an outstanding accomplishment. As we mention in the chapter "Completing School" in our book "How To Survive Your Teen's Pregnancy", about one-third of female high school dropouts in America cite pregnancy as the reason they stopped going to school. You can also read more about "The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts", a report by Civic Enterprises.

Liliana Juarez, a 17-year-old from Kearns, said that before becoming pregnant, she often skipped school to party. Her 18-month-old daughter, Xitlaly, plus the Young Parents Program, has put her life back on track. "She [Xitlaly] needs a better life than me being a dropout with a $6-an-hour job," Juarez said.

Support your daughter in figuring out how she will at least finish high school! This will vastly improve her life and the life of your grandchild.