More than 30 Prince George’s County, Maryland, high school students were recognized Friday night with the first-ever special commencement ceremony for teenage mothers in the District who got pregnant during high school, kept their babies and still pushed on to graduate.
The auditorium at Central High School in Capitol Heights was full of proud parents and relatives, and many new moms and babies.
“I am honored and delighted to welcome you to our first-ever graduation celebration,” said Jacqueline Naves, who is the supervisor of the District’s Personnel Services department, which manages what’s called the Adolescent Single Parent Program.
“To our graduates, you did it. You have reached this incredible milestone.”
In one form or another, this program has been around for more than 35 years in Prince George’s County Public Schools.
But this is the first time the school system has recognized the young women specifically who became parents and finished their high school education with their own commencement ceremony.
The young women had earlier graduated with their own high school classes, but District officials decided this year to do something additional to mark the accomplishment.
Angie Rascon, an 18-year-old of Upper Marlboro, is the mother of a six-month-old boy. She credits her principal at Largo High School and others for helping her finish high school after getting pregnant during her junior year.
“The principal at my school — he is the best. I got the best support from him. Thanks to him, I graduated,” Rascon said as she beamed with a huge smile. “At the end of the day, I have a beautiful baby that you love and you’re just happy to have him.”
Rascon said that many days when she was pregnant, she did not feel like doing the classwork, and after she had the baby, there were challenges with being fatigued and caring for a newborn.
But, she and the other students pushed through it to get to graduation day, wearing caps and gowns and receiving certificates of accomplishment from school leaders, being told by adults that they were proud of what they had done.
Naves manages the program along with several other educators. She said the goal is to give the new moms the encouragement and resources they need to finish high school.
“We stand with them and provide resources for them when needed and support for them, when it’s needed,” she said. “Those children really feel seen, and they are getting the support they need, and they would not normally get.”
For her part, Rascon said she has two goals — to be a great mom and get a real estate agent’s license and begin her career in the field.
Speaking for the young women, Rascon said that while the last 18 months have been very challenging, she believes she made the right decision to keep her son and finish high school. Now, she knows she can face the future and overcome the next challenge in life, because she has the tenacity to do great things.
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