Boulder Valley Schools Teen Parenting Program: An Exemplary Vocational Education Program Serving a Population with Special Needs

The Boulder Valley (Colorado) Teen Parenting Program is designed to meet the educational and vocational needs of pregnant or parenting adolescents. It focuses on the following goals: (1) decreasing the dropout rate of teen parents; (2) improving the health and well-being of children born to teen parents; (3) decreasing repeat pregnancies of teen parents; and (4) increasing the economic self-sufficiency of teen parents. The program is a collaborative effort of the school district, the district's technical education center, community social service agencies, health clinics, and business/community partners. It is staffed with a coordinator, home economics instructor, public health nurse, early childhood education specialist, volunteers, paraprofessional child caregivers, and foster grandparents. During the program, the number of youth served has been rising each year (1981-90). As a result of the program, a high percentage of at-risk youth has been served, dropout rates for teen parents have gone down, there is a decreased incidence of low birthweight babies, and repeat pregnancies have decreased. The program's heavy vocational education emphasis has made it possible for many teen parents to complete vocational training. (KC)