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EDITORIAL: Save School for Young Mothers

Posted on: Saturday, 25 March 2006, 06:00 CST

By The Baltimore Sun

Mar. 25--The plan to close the Laurence G. Paquin Middle/High School further reveals a Baltimore schools administration that is inept and totally out of touch with the needs of city students and the community ("Teaching teen mothers," March 20). By providing education and support services to pregnant students, the Paquin School serves a vital function in breaking the cycle of poverty and welfare for the mothers as well as in striving to provide prenatal and postnatal care for the babies. Many young women in Baltimore would not even attend school if not for Paquin. The result would often be an uneducated mother living in poverty with little or no support for her child.

Thus the destructive cycle of children raising children would continue. In essence, for each mother enrolled at Paquin, two (or more) youngsters benefit. As a former educator, I can't think of any more important school in the city than Paquin. But the narrow-minded schools administration apparently doesn't see it that way. Dennis Sirman Long Neck, Del. The article on the Paquin School highlighted the thinking of those who have concluded that its mission is no longer in vogue. Yet it also revealed that the physical appearance of the school was immaculate, and order prevailed. The taxpayers are inundated with news of failures in the academic offerings and physical conditions of Baltimore's schools. The administrators of the school system appear to be guilty of accepting the poor housekeeping and other shortcomings seen at many other schools as the norm.

Shifting students and closing schools will not solve the basic issues that confront school administrators. What looms is another entry on the list of their failures. And the children will be the ones who lose. Geraldine Wright-Bey Baltimore I am appalled at the projected closing of the Laurence G. Paquin Middle/High School, the city's high school for unwed teenage mothers.

How many of the school system's personnel have actually walked into that school and seen what a remarkable place it is? A friend and I took some books to the school. We came in, unannounced, and were given a tour of the school. It was quiet and clean, and there was learning going on. Each of the teachers and staff members we met was so involved in what that school does. The school has a wonderful library, a computer center, a sewing class, etc. The girls we saw were either in the clinic for check-ups, walking to class or in class. In the day care center, small children were being read to and obviously having a nurturing, learning experience. Why on Earth would anyone close down what is without a doubt one of the premier high schools in the city? I truly wonder if the comment that teenage pregnancy has "become more socially acceptable" is true. Who did that research? There has been a drop in teenage pregnancy, but does the school system really believe that by having a safe place for teen mothers and babies, it is "endorsing teen sex"? Get a grip. Placing these girls into the Lake Clifton High School complex might mean that some of them would just opt out of going to school. Can Lake Clifton duplicate Paquin's concern about how to take care of yourself as a pregnant child and then how to care for the baby when it is born? These young mothers are getting good care and sage advice about themselves and their babies at Paquin. There are supportive adults in the school to talk to about any of the teen's concerns. I question the comment by Alexandra Hughes, an assistant to city schools CEO Bonnie S. Copeland, that teen pregnancy "is not a taboo thing anymore" and that therefore these girls want to go to their local high schools. Some may, but many may not. And, again, where is the research? Just because the Paquin School is underused (for now), why must it be closed? It is a vital resource for our city. We can spend money on huge stadiums but not on a great school? Paquin needs to stay open. Joan Cantori Baltimore The writer is a volunteer tutor in Baltimore's public schools.

To Our Readers: The Sun welcomes letters from readers. All letters become the property of The Sun, which reserves the right to edit them. Letters should include your name and address, along with day and evening telephone numbers. E-mail us: letters@baltsun.com; write us: Letters to the Editor, The Sun, P.O. Box 1377, Baltimore 21278-0001; fax us: 410-332-6977

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Baltimore Sun

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Source: The Baltimore Sun, Maryland

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