Santa Monica : Help for Young Mothers

Santa Monica College has launched a program to encourage teen-age mothers to stay in school, or return if they have dropped out, and provides them with financial assistance, counseling and child-care help.

Five mothers, ranging in age from 16 to 18, started classes at the college this summer. They will be able to earn both high school and college credit for some of the classes, said counselor John Gonzalez.

The students were recruited from the School-Age Parenting and Infant Development Program, a year-old program at Olympic High School in Santa Monica. Some of the mothers will get their high school diplomas at the college, and others are enrolled at the college and at Olympic High concurrently.

Most teen-age mothers take a lot of time out from school to have their babies, said Tina Feiger, coordinator of the program, which is named “On the Move.”

“The longer you stay out of school, the harder it is to get back into it,” she said.

In the program, the students can “pick up some high school credits and get experience at the college,” Feiger said. “It makes them feel like grown-ups, to be in a college class. . . . They feel respected as adults.”

Santa Monica College has helped arrange for private and state-subsidized child care, offered parenting classes, waived registration fees and given each mother $100 for supplies, Feiger said. Three more students are expected to join the program in the fall, she said.