Nationwide — Seventeen young mothers who are mostly African American graduated from high school, defying stereotypes and challenges that they faced as teen moms. Their school, Georgia Chaffee TAPP School in Louisville, Kentucky, has a program that specifically caters to young parents.
“I feel nervous but I’m also ready to get started with my life, with my adult life,” said one of the graduates Ronyale Wilson, a Black mom whose daughter just turned 1-year-old. “I’m ready to see what life has for me.”
The program goes beyond traditional education, offering specialized services such as childcare, medical support, and family resources to prevent teenage pregnancy dropouts. It helped young mothers to focus more on their education even though it still has its challenges.
“It’s been very challenging. Especially waking up at 5’oclock in the morning every morning,” Wilson said. “I have to get myself ready and then my baby and get on the bus by a certain time but I made it work.”
The support of their loved ones as well as the guidance and encouragement of their teachers and the accessibility to the school’s resources all played a crucial role in helping these students exceed their own expectations.
“It’s just emotional because we’re done, we did it. We got through it with babies,” Wilson said. “People doubted us, but we did it and got through all the stuff.”