Motherhood at fourteen years old while working toward a high school diploma is enormously challenging.  Add a very mobile and energetic 15 month old toddler and meeting those challenges successfully can be completely overwhelming.  Many of our student moms have unstable and chaotic lives; others struggle with depression or additional issues.  Often, the only safe place is school.  The Florence Crittenton School is designed to help a teen mother navigate these challenges and the Infant/Toddler Learning Center, onsite at Florence Crittenton, provides a safe and educational environment for up to 60 babies at a time.

Karina Barron started as a freshman at Florence Crittenton School in August 2005.  She is now 16 years old and an upcoming sophomore.  Her daughter, Diana, has been in the Learning Center’s Sweet Peas classroom since she was five months old with the same teachers, Theresa Romero and Cindy Bowdry.

“Diana learned so much in Sweet Peas this past year!” exclaims Karina.  “She started crawling and then walking. Now she’s coloring, playing music, and dancing!”  Her social, physical and emotional maturity dramatically improved.  Karina is deeply grateful for the devoted care and attention given to Diana.  She feels Diana’s marked improvements are indicative of the nurturing she receives at the Learning Center.

The Learning Center is a place where professionals care for infants and toddlers, providing high quality care for the babies as well as giving their mothers hands-on child care education.  The interactions teen mothers have with their babies in these classrooms promote successful parenting to produce self-sufficient families.  The learning opportunities are comprehensively structured around the babies’ needs and the students’ academic schedules.  This past year, Karina was able to check on Diana during lunch as well as spend structured time visiting with her each week.  Denver Public Schools’ regularly scheduled classes and academic rigor are as important as parenting classes, although balancing the two during a busy day is challenging.

The New Moms program, guided by Bev Parent, Early Childhood Education Specialist, and Linda Gould, Lead Counselor, provides teen moms the time necessary to learn about their babies and how to care for them.  Teen mothers meet together to ask questions about feeding, changing diapers and sleeping schedules.  They talk about how to encourage their babies’ development.  There’s also time for lots of interaction with their babies; singing, playing and enjoying snacks together.  Moms learn why such stimulating play is necessary.  A level of trust begins between the mothers in this group and as it grows, they realize the benefits of shared learning.  They create their own agenda with Bev’s assistance, and they REALLY learn from each other through sharing problems and solutions. 

And when young mothers visit the Sweet Peas classroom, Theresa and Cindy encourage them to ask questions.  They focus on helping the moms be more confident in all areas of child care.  

A day at the Learning Center involves a wide range of stimulating activities for the babies.  New sounds and free play are designed to develop cognitive abilities and motor activity exercises are performed for different muscle groups.  Other daily activities include: painting, reading, verbal communications; walks to the park to explore different environments; and growth through sensory education. Basic words in sign language are taught.  Feeding is on a regular schedule but nap time and other activities are based on each baby’s needs.  The room always offers a calming atmosphere for babies and moms. And Theresa and Cindy have parties celebrating “first” occasions of all kinds.

Because the expectations in her academic classes are high, and because she trusts that Diana is safe and well-cared-for during the day, Karina has done well in her studies. The School and the Learning Center offer significant encouragement for the moms to stay in class and to trust the staff.  Karina is looking forward to her time with Diana this summer, in between her shifts at her summer job.  They’ll sing Diana’s favorite song (the Roly-Poly Song), enjoy Diana’s favorite foods (fresh fruit), and dance to the music that makes this particular baby so happy!

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