8 Teen-Age Mothers Add Their Names to Fight Against Illiteracy

As the teen-age graduates crowded into their classroom Tuesday, the girls whispered and giggled at the sight of the achievement certificates awaiting them. And as soon as they had dropped off their babies in the day-care room, the ceremony began.

With a rose, a photocopied certificate and a hug from their teacher, eight teen-age mothers celebrated their first major academic achievement Tuesday: They completed a nine-month special education program in Pacoima that improved their reading skills, and taught them to prepare a healthy meal and calm a cranky baby.

“When I started this I didn’t know how to read. I had to ask someone for help in everything,” said Lisa Stanley, 18, mother of a 2 1/2-year-old boy and 10-month-old girl. “Now I can read some books to my son. I just feel better about myself.”

The Pacoima branch of El Nido Services--a nonprofit child-, youth- and parent-counseling organization--was awarded a onetime, $25,000 grant by the Kaiser Permanente foundation about a year ago to create a nine-month literacy program for eight teen-age mothers.

But what began as a structured reading class turned into a “life skills” course, said teacher Cindy Friedman, who devised reading lessons on topics such as health, nutrition and raising children.

These eight girls can be found classified among many disturbing California statistics--the 20% high school dropout rate, an estimated 71,700 pregnant teen-agers and teen-age mothers under 18.

And like half of the 16- to 19-year-old mothers and three out of four of the 14- to 15-year-old mothers in the nation--according to a report by state education authorities--they lacked basic academic skills.

But on Friday, these eight vowed to become statistic-busters.

“I know that if I want to get ahead in my life I need to learn how to comprehend what I read,” said Carrie Williams, 17, who intends to enroll in an adult vocational school. “I guess I realize now I have options for my education.”

Two girls left midway through the program to return to high school. The other six say they are returning to high school or adult vocational programs offered by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The El Nido program offered two services key to the success of education programs for teen-age mothers--a bus pass for transportation and day care for the children, said Ronda Simpson-Brown, coordinator of teen-age pregnancy and parenting programs for the California Department of Education.

She said programs such as El Nido’s are direly needed because 90% of California schools offering teen-age parent education have long waiting lists.

Debbie, 17, said it was a struggle to pack up her son for the twice-a-week classes and take two buses to school. She said, however, it was worth it because in nine months she improved her reading skills from third- to fifth-grade level.

And she intends to proudly display her achievement certificate to prove it.

“I already bought a frame,” she said. “It’s going right in the living room, right where everyone who walks in the door can see it.”