Teen Parent Center

Michelle Longoria said the Teen Parent Center has taught her how to care for her 3-year-old son.

The 15-year-old ninth-grader went to Bowie Junior High until she got pregnant at the age of 12 and started attending the center.

Without the facility and its childcare center, Longoria said her son, Hucias Ramon Jr., wouldn’t be able to excel as much as he has.

“He’s learned a lot,” Michelle said. “He’s really smart.”

Ector County Independent School District administrators looked at merging the Teen Parent Center, 4803 Plaza Blvd., with the Career Center, 300 E. 29th St., for the 2007-’08 school year.

But, a TPC committee recently came to an agreement that the facility should remain at its current location and not seek a merger with the Career Center, Alma Guerrero, ECISD assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said.

Coinciding with that decision, the committee members noted some changes need to be made to the facility as soon as possible to meet student needs, she said.

The committee, which was formed by then-superintendent Wendell Sollis in April, reviewed curriculum access, the master schedule, courses and day care and other facility options for TPC, Guerrero said.

Odessa doesn’t offer many day care facilities for children, Guerrero said, and that shouldn’t be an issue for teen moms going to school. The Career Center doesn’t have a childcare facility ready for students’ children, Guerrero said.

“We just want to make sure the access is available to them just like any child,” Guerrero said, adding the students also need a safe school environment.

ECISD interim superintendent Hector Mendez said the changes are a good start to meeting the students’ needs.

Planned renovations include remodeling TPC’s roof and some of the windows, creating a front entrance to the center, demolishing some of the buildings and adding more classrooms and day care facilities, Guerrero said.

David Finley, ECISD executive director for facilities and maintenance, has been working on a draft plan for the renovation project.

Finley said the plans are conceptual at this point, but the facility would need some upgrades, such as fixing leaky roofs and adding classroom space, to meet student needs.

“We’re trying to get an overall idea what the plan could be,” Finley said.

Guerrero said the committee will see final plans for the TPC renovations and then the suggestions will be submitted to ECISD trustees for approval.

Trustees would ultimately decide whether to continue to keep TPC at its current location as well as the draft plan for renovations, Guerrero said. Finley agreed.

“It’s a step-by-step process, and we just want the board involved with that as much as possible,” Finley said.

Meanwhile, Guerrero said she and other administrators visited Fort Worth and Arlington teen parent centers to gain insight into how they are run. The group learned many of the centers offer core classes, computer software for elective courses and opportunities for obtaining a GED, she said.

Guerrero said school district officials mainly want the students to graduate and attend college or go into the workforce post-graduation.

TPC principal Claudette Jones said the center has 139 female students attending the campus this semester, and the administration and staff take note of each students’ commitment to learn.

“They’re determined to get their education regardless … I admire all of them for that,” Jones said.

Back at the center, Michelle said she takes her core subjects, such as math and science, at TPC in addition to a class teaching some parenting skills, she said.

While in class, her son stays in the center’s day care facility.

Another TPC student, Sharon Smith, 15, said in addition to childcare services the center allows her the opportunity to graduate early.

Sharon, who is almost two months pregnant, said every nine weeks students may receive five credits and she needs 22 credits to graduate.

Tonya Brown, TPC childcare development center director, said the Teen Parent Center gives students the chance to complete their high school education, which is the reason many are at the center.

And a lot of times the center is the only way students may finish their education, she said.

“They wouldn’t be here if they didn’t want to be here,” Brown said.