Budget Cuts Imperil Franklin's Crash Course in Teen Parenthood

Eric Guevara, 17, learned an unlikely skill at this semester: child rearing.

The senior is one of 30 Franklin High School students who are taking the “Baby Think It Over” parenting class, which teaches students about the stages of pregnancy, labor and delivery, as well as the countless skills it requires to take care of a newborn.

“I took the class because I wanted to try something new. I thought it was going to be easy,” he said.  “But it wasn’t.”

As part of the class, Guevara took home an ‘infant simulator’ for a period of three days and cared for it all day and all night. During that time, the baby cried randomly and could only be calmed when Eric inserted a “care key” for a few minutes and held it. Sometimes these crying fits would occur in the middle of the night.

The class seems to have made a positive impact on Guevara and many of his peers. They’ve learned just how dramatic an impact an infant can have on their lives.

“Most guys don’t think about the responsibility,” he said. “This class made me realize how important it is to be prepared before having a baby.”

But as the Los Angeles Unified School District tries to close a $408 million deficit, elective classes like “Baby Think It Over” could be threatened.

Franklin High School Principal Joseph Nacorda did not respond to Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch’s inquiries about the future of the program.

Parenting class teacher Jean Geiger says it is rewarding seeing her students, including Guevara, understand the responsibilities linked to parenthood.

“I love what I do. I love seeing the students having that ‘A-ha!’ moment,” Geiger said. “Sometimes teens can hear what you are saying, but it is different when they really understand.”

Geiger has been teaching the class for 12 years and said she wants to expand her class, but it is unlikely due to the lack of resources. She said that the class is extremely valuable to students.

Damaris Lima, one of Geiger’s students, agrees.

“This experience made me realize how important it is to wait until you are ready to face the responsibility of a baby,” Lima said, adding that she didn’t even have to feed or change diapers and taking care of the mechanical infant was still very difficult. “I need to finish school and have a steady job and a partner before having [a baby].”

Lima describes the class as a sobering experience. It has allowed her to make an informed decision about her future. The class has also showed her how much her future would change if she became a teen mother.

She said that, though she has five friends who are teen mothers, she he didn’t understand the severity of teen motherhood before she enrolled in “Baby Think It Over.”

“[My friend] makes it sound so easy,” Lima said. “I don’t know how she does it. It freaked me out. I rather wait until I have a stable job and a partner.”

Lima’s friends are among the number of Latina teen mothers, a group which is growing at an alarming rate. In fact, Latinas have the highest teen pregnancy rate and teen birth rate of any major ethnic group in the country, according to the most recent data from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

More than half--about 52 percent--of Latina teens get pregnant at least once before age 20, nearly twice the national average, the data show.

Teen birth rates at LAUSD range from 55 to 89 per 1,000 students. The higher rate would mean that at a school of 2,500 female students between the ages of 15 to 19, there would have 224 live births annually. Those numbers are based on data from LAUSD’s Health Care Strategic Plan, which targets teen pregnancy as a top issue that the district must address.

“When a teen gives birth they become more likely to drop out of school and become more dependent on the social welfare system,” according to the report. “Children of teenage and single parents also experience poorer health, lower cognitive development, worse educational outcomes, more behavior problems and are more likely to become teen parents themselves.”

Lima said she believes that student access to a class like “Baby Think it Over” would serve as prevention against teen pregnancy.

“All freshman should be required to take this class,” she said.