The story of the 18 pregnant girls who made a pact to become pregnant at Gloucester High School in Gloucester, Massachusetts, has been all over the news in the last several days. Everyone hearing the story has been understandably dismayed. My mother even called me to say, "Did you know they are providing in-school day care for those girls?" Sure enough, she's right. Apparently, the day care center is located in a "converted classroom" at the school. We're told that none of the pregnant teens plans to drop out and there's now a waiting list for the free daycare program. Some are now questioning whether having daycare at the school might be encouraging students to have babies. Superintendent Chris Farmer responds, "I think that is hard to believe. Clearly if we can keep them in school, it gives them a better chance in the future."
I would imagine that is true, and the limited research on the topic appears to supports this claim. (Of the few studies I found, however, none utilized rigorous methods and they were generally conducted on isolated programs.) The head of the organization running the daycare responded, "Once this happens they are happy we are there and the data supports this." Yes, I imagine they are happy to receive free child care--who wouldn't be? I will resist using this opportunity to pontificate about the message that I think having daycares in high school sends to students. But I am reminded of this recommendation in the bigger, bolder statement released recently by many in the education elite:
One particularly promising policy is to locate full-service health clinics in schools. Such clinics offer a way to overcome the absence of primary care physicians in low-income areas. They also address the fact that poor parents are often unable to take time from work for preventive and other health care services.
Hmmm... wonder if they also had in mind free daycare for poor teenagers who choose to become pregnant? Perverse incentives are tricky things, to be sure. And while it's true that these clinics and the rise in teen pregnancies do not share a "causal relationship," common sense tells us that it sure makes the after-prospects of having a child a lot easier when teenage mothers know there is someone waiting to take care of their newborn 5 days a week for free. So, then, the question remains: Is this a legitimate function of schooling? If you ask me, by all means, help disadvantaged children who come into the world have a better life--perhaps even through discounted day care at off-site facilities. Just don't use the physical space of our schools to legitimize teenagers' bad decisions.
