Teen parent rate soars at Sisters High School

A sudden rash of pregnancies among teenage girls at Sisters Middle/Senior High School has administrators baffled and scrambling to provide state mandated services for both young mothers and their children.

According to Principal Dennis Dempsey, eight girls are parenting this school year--which includes being pregnant or caring for a child. All are seniors and juniors.

This is up from one last year and one the year before, Dempsey said.

"I have no idea why (there was a sudden increase). The only thing I could find in common was that seven of the eight were not involved in cocurricular activities," Dempsey said. "Maybe next year we will be back at one again."

Actually, according to school nurse Julie Stover, there was more than one pregnancy last year, but those girls did not stay involved with the school. She became aware of the others from other support services.

Dempsey said the reasons for pregnancy probably vary from girl to girl.

"Did they deliberately decide (to get pregnant) or was it an accident?" he asked. "Maybe since no one had gotten pregnant (in previous years), there were no peers around telling them how tough it is to raise a child."

There is no access to birth control through the school. There is sex education. One of the eight pregnant girls received permission to "opt out" of the sexual education curriculum, Dempsey said.

Sisters Student Counselor Dan Saraceno said the parenting percentage this year was probably about average as far as other central Oregon schools.

Saraceno said that to the best of his knowledge each girl is planning to keep her baby, although this will be a responsibility that most will bear alone or with the help of their parents.

"In a couple of the cases the boys have stayed involved and are providing (personal) support," Saraceno said. "In the other cases the boys are still trying to decide how they are going to fit into this."

Saraceno said he would expect to see more pregnant teens or teen mothers in the school system if girls felt it was "okay coming into the school and getting an education."

According to Principal Dempsey, this is required by law. Larger districts such as Bend and Redmond have full-fledged programs, including day care for the infants, Dempsey said.

In Sisters, because the numbers are smaller and will probably vary widely from year to year, this will be handled on an as-needed basis.

"We have to provide access to prenatal services and child care. Right now that is being done in-house by the school nurse and counselors," Dempsey said.

The district receives approximately double the state-funded support for each teen parent, from about $4,000 to $8,000 per student, Dempsey said.

Counselor Saraceno said that the program in Sisters right now "is minimal. We get them information and coordinate with the county health department."

That includes information on birthing, parenting, even on clothing, he said. The girls also need access to programs such as adult and family services, programs that provide money, food stamps and child care.

Another priority is providing those who haven't finished high school an opportunity to do so.