VALDOSTA — Christian Wyche was upset and disappointed when she learned she was pregnant.

At 19, a senior at Bishop Hall in Thomas County and with only five credits left, she planned to graduate in February.

Dr. Verna Wiggins, Bishop Hall assistant principal and counselor, told the teenage mother-to-be that despite the pregnancy, she could still finish high school, perhaps even earlier than planned.

Wyche is involved in a program where students go to various schools and work with children. Wyche works with teachers and paraprofessionals at Headstart. She is involved with 3- and 4-year-olds.

Wiggins said Wyche is learning skills she can use as a mother.

On Thursdays, Wyche meets with a social worker at the school. She learns about abstinence. The social worker offers encouragement to stay in school despite the unexpected pregnancy.

Wyche, whose due date is June 25, did not want to discuss the father of her unborn child, other than to say he is aware of the pregnancy, but does not want to be involved.

Wyche aspires to become a social worker. She wants to help children who might be in her situation or those who are abused. She wants to “show them somebody loves them.”

Although she is tired, sleeping more and experiencing morning sickness, Wyche, in addition to attending school full time, works part time at a fast-food restaurant during the week and full time on the weekends.

Her 54-year-old mother, a diabetic, has been on dialysis for 13 years and Wyche cooks and cleans for her.

“Whatever she needs me to do, I do,” Wyche said.

An older brother, who lives in Atlanta, helps as much as he can.

Wiggins told Wyche the pregnancy is not the end of the world and that everyone makes mistakes.

“She’s ready to move forward and do what she needs to do,” Wiggins said.

There are programs available in Thomas County to help Wyche graduate and raise her child. Programs provided through the department of health, Division of Family and Child Services, non-profits, churches, etc.

The SunLight team looked at programs helping pregnant teens inside our coverage areas – Valdosta, Dalton, Thomasville, Milledgeville, Tifton and Moultrie, Ga., and Live Oak, Jasper and Mayo, Fla., along with the surrounding counties.

Many of the same options are available in each county. A teen mother’s chances of finishing school are better today than in previous generations, mostly due to improved technology that previously wasn’t available, said Donna Mitchell, guidance director at Colquitt County High School.

With the internet and other resources available, a pregnant teen can finish her high school education without returning to the classroom on campus.

“Before there was only the option of traditional school or GED; now, they have other options,” Mitchell said.

A student can return to the high school campus if she wishes but there are several other ways to get a diploma. These include dual-enrollment in high school and a local technical college, where a student can split time between the two campuses. Other options include taking college classes that will apply toward high school credits and taking them by computer through Georgia Virtual School.

“A lot of them do do that,” Mitchell said of the courses available online.

While pregnant or after giving birth, students at the high schools can have excused absences related to doctor’s visits or for time needed to care for the baby.

The flexibility available today helps teen mothers fit school to their schedule and Mitchell said some also work jobs.

“They’re having to mature quicker,” she said of the new moms. “They’re not only responsible for themselves, they’re responsible for their baby.”

School nurses and social workers stay closely involved during the expectant mother’s prenatal period and after she returns to classes.

“So there is not a break in their education,” Mitchell said. “The social worker works closely with our teen moms. (She) stays in touch with students during pregnancy and after.”

The degree of services offered to an individual student can vary from school to school and county to county.

For Lowndes County Schools, Sandra Wilcher, director of student support services, tailors everything to the student’s needs.

She said the school system used to have a support group but found it didn’t work as well as giving each teen mom individualized scheduled time.

“The girls had trouble bonding because their situations were all unique,” Wilcher said. “Everybody is in a different place. We want to make it as easy a process as possible for them.”

First, school counselors establish what the mom needs in terms of medical care, family or emotional support and then help them navigate the resources available outside of the school. In most communities, there are systems in place to help struggling or teenage mothers, and counselors make sure their students are aware of them, she said.

Academically, Wilcher said they may need to make modifications to their school schedule. The mothers can be put on hospital homebound after they have the child if necessary. Hospital homebound allows them to work on their school work from home or from the hospital.

“But it’s really unique to each student depending where they are educationally or otherwise,” Wilcher said.

The Valdosta City School System has an approach similar to Lowndes County. Deanna Folsom, city schools social services coordinator, said the city school system handles each situation on a personal level. She said it establishes what the teen needs then identifies the available programs.

First, the school system ensures the mother is receiving prenatal care. She puts them on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. WIC is a federal program that schools throughout the city and county use to provide proper nutritional health to mothers. Thomas County also utilizes this program.

Mothers receive vouchers that can be used to buy healthy food items. Folsom said the school system helps the mothers learn how to use the vouchers and prepare for being a parent.

“Unfortunately, kids don’t come with a little instruction book, so there is a lot for (the teens) to learn,” Folsom said. “For example, we had one young lady who was 18 and completely on her own. We took her to the grocery store, assisted her on picking out the appropriate foods and helped her keep up with her doctor’s appointments. We try to give them some of the tools they need.”

In Thomas County, 1st Option Care is a pregnancy resource center serving Thomas, Grady and Mitchell counties.

Executive Director Meghan Ridenour said the agency’s mission is to bring compassionate help and hope to women and teens who are unprepared for pregnancy, to present sexual abstinence as a positive lifestyle for singles and to provide opportunities for healing and restoration to those who have been hurt by abortion.

In 2016, 1st Option served 52 females in Thomas County. This year, 48 have been served in Thomas County.

Two Thomas County Central High School teens have had babies during the current school year. At Bishop Hall, a charter school in the Thomas County system, one student has a baby and another is pregnant.

Wiggins said a social skills class taught to boys and girls by licensed social workers at the school “definitely focuses on abstinence.”

If a Bishop Hall student thinks she might be pregnant, she is taken to the Thomas County Health Department by school personnel. If the girl is pregnant, she meets with school personnel to review her choices in completing her education.

“We try to put some plans together for them,” Wiggins said.

Personnel at both schools have programs that help and encourage pregnant teens and those who have given birth to finish high school.

When teenage girls in Baldwin County face the realization they are pregnant, they luckily have a few resources at their disposal.

“First of all, we’ll talk to the child and see if they’ve talked to their parents about it,” said Ola Scott-Little, Baldwin County Schools social worker. “We’re not at liberty to call a parent unless we think the child or her pregnancy is in danger but they may say they came to talk to me because they want me to talk to mom about it. We’ll call mom to talk about it and let her know what next steps need to be taken as far as prenatal care and if she plans to finish high school, as well as options of actually obtaining her diploma.”

Students who would be hard-pressed to finish high school have the option of attending Foothills Charter School, a state-operated school offering high school courses at night and at the student’s own pace. In addition to Foothills, students can take part in a program that provides counseling and career advice to expecting and parenting teens.

They also make referrals to the Take Charge program, which is under the umbrella of Goodwill stores, she said. The program equips pregnant or teen parents in Baldwin County with the skills and resources needed to be a parent, while also pursuing their high school education.

“They provide parental counseling and coaching, educational counseling and coaching, family support, career planning, possibly placement assistance, and anything they can do to help a teen that’s expecting,” Scott-Little said.

In Tift County, should a student get pregnant, the teen is treated like any other student, said Stacey Beckham, Tift County School System director of communications.

The school will work with the hospital homebound services so the student can study from bed if she is on bedrest or are having health issues related to the pregnancy.

It also offers Tift Academy, an online school that lets students work at their own pace from home at no cost so they can complete their education and graduate with a diploma from Tift County High School.

Throughout the SunLight coverage area, schools help pregnant teens get the support they need. Whether it is a city, state or federal program, there are many options available, but Percy Chastang, program coordinator for the office of adolescent health, said access to services in South Georgia needs improvement.

Chastang said something such as limited transportation is a big issue for pregnant teens who don’t have access to a vehicle and live in areas with no public transportation. Easier access to health services are also lacking. 

He compared smaller, Southern cities to places farther north. There are some schools in Atlanta that have clinics inside the school, he said.

“In Athens, there are teen centers right across from the high school where they can go to receive help that is confidential,” Chastang said. “In smaller cities they have to go to the health department where they’ll probably run into someone they know. There really needs to be more access to services and, really, getting past the stigma of the invisible line.”

This the the first part of a two-part series published. The second part will be published Dec. 12.

The SunLight Project team of journalists who contributed to this report includes Thomas Lynn, Patti Dozier, Charles Oliver, Will Woolever, Jessie Box and Eve Guevara.