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What in the world is going on at Frayser Middle/High School in Memphis, Tenn.? More girls are carrying babies than backpacks!
There are a reported 90 teens who are pregnant now or who have had a baby this school year. Eleven percent of the school's female population is already in the throes of parenthood.
Now an all-out campaign is being launched to deter teen pregnancy at the school.
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Teen pregnancy is a big problem in Memphis and Shelby County, where the population is predominantly black and poor.
Sixteen-year-old Terrika Sutton (pictured above) is one of the Frayser students who became pregnant. Sutton, who has a 2-month-old daughter, says she was in her fifth month when she found out she was expecting a child. The teen mom surprised her parents and classmates alike when she broke the news to them about her situation:
"They were like, 'Terrika, I never knew you would get pregnant,' and I was like well it happened."
The young mother goes onto say, though, that teen pregnancy is nothing to be proud of and that something should be done:
"It's a shame that all these girls at Frayser are pregnant, but it ain't nothing new. They probably planned on what they gonna do to get pregnant. Ain't no telling. They need a class where they can teach girls before they get pregnant to use protection and stuff and so they don't try to get pregnant."
Until now, there has been very little data collected on the number of pregnant students.
Last year, more than 2,100 girls ages 10 to 19 gave birth in Shelby County. Researchers say Shelby County's teen pregnancy rate is 25 percent higher than New Orleans and twice that of Louisville, Ky. Frayser, though, has the highest teen-pregnancy rate in all of Memphis.
A Title 1 school, Frayser receives federal dollars based on the number of students from low-income families who qualify for free or reduced lunch. Nearly 100 percent of the students who attend the school qualify.
Educators and researchers have come up with a new campaign that has been designed to help teens prevent pregnancy called "No Baby!"
Memphis City School officials will set the initiative in motion on Jan. 20. The campaign will be run by Girls Inc., an organization that's been helping girls in Memphis improve their self-esteem for the past several decades.
The "No Baby!" all-out massive effort to stomp out teen pregnancy will hopefully get the message across to teens to say no to having sex and having babies. "No Baby!" will only encourage abstinence and not provide contraceptives but will give teens the proper tools on how to protect themselves should they decide to engage in sexual relations.
The war against teenage pregnancy is also being infused with $250,000 in advertising that will saturate all forms of social media forums such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as using other mediums, such as texts, radio, billboards and television.
The advertising campaign's rollout will begin with Frayser, but it will expand to include other schools in Memphis where the teen pregnancy problem is rampant. In 10 Memphis zip codes, at least 20 percent of teens have a baby, which is more than double the national average.
Teen pregnancy is a serious issue that demands our attention.
Teen parents are almost always unprepared for the challenges of parenthood and often drop out of school, take low-paying jobs and never complete their education. Children born to teen moms are often sicker, poorer and less educated as a group.
The scariest part of all is that they are also the group most likely to become teen parents and repeat the cycle. I don't profess to come up with any one solution to this growing problem, but I believe that morals, contraception, abstinence and keeping idle minds busy with activities after school might be a darn good start.
Comments: (222)
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By: Bruce on 1/14/2011 11:58AM
Was Lawrence Taylor in the neiborhood ! :o)
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By: schoolsnotsafe on 1/15/2011 7:59AM
All parents need to consider home schooling, schools are not safe for children now-a-days. Ask these girls where did they engage in sex and most answers will be at school, in the schools BATHROOMS....ask them at what age did it begin....as young as five years old. A solution would be to replace shcools with HOMESCHOOLING, turn the old school buildings into resource centers where you can get: teaching methods and models, curriculum sources and supplys, religuous and ethnic homeschooling resources, state-by-state guidelines, resources for tests and test preparation and transcripts, online enrichment sources, valuable coupons to help you save money, books/supplies etc., for gaining knowledge about teaching your children at home. SCHOOLS ARE NOT SAFE FOR OUR CHILDRENS!!!! GET RID OF SCHOOLS AND SUPPLY RESOURCES/BUILDINGS FOR HOMESCHOOLING...STOP THE MADNESS!!! Look up sexaul abuse in the schools it's disgusting these kids don't have a chance!!!
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By: SAY WHAT! on 1/15/2011 8:31AM
Now THAT'S what I call after-school activities.
But seriously now... Allow me to Break it down!
Kids are doing the deed somewhere.
Sounds like a colossal case of enabling.
ONE TIME (only) My daughter tried to tell me her boyfriend was exhausted and fell asleep. She didn't want to wake him and asked if he could stay the night.
I stood right up walked into the room where he was sleeping and woke his ass up. Then I told her to tell him to go home when he recovered from his "exhaustion".
Kids THINK they are cool, master manipulators. It's up to "good parents" to reduce their opportunities. How about enforcing simple rules like nobody in the house when you're not home and keep bedroom doors open when they have people over.
When they complain tell them they'll have plenty of time to make their OWN rules when they get THEIR own place!
Sorry for those kids that don't have caring parents in their lives and this story looks like another generation of mostly fatherless kids has been conceived.
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By: Stupidity anonymous. on 1/15/2011 10:52AM
Monkey SEE...
Monkey Do.
Not in all cases, but in most it can be traced back to the style of parenting or the complete LACK of it!
Stop being your kids best friend with all that tee hee-hee, lol BS on facebook and get down to business!
If not, your house gonna get noisy and crowded real soon. Enjoy!
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By: Jerry jerry jerry! on 1/15/2011 12:04PM
Maury povich is gonna be busy!
In the case of Shaniqua and Darius...
Darius...you are NOT the father!
My kid said one of her friends intentionally had sex with as many guys as she could to get pregnant and go on the Maury show to find the daddy.
She said the plane ride, HO-tel and "lil vacation" was gonna be "fun" tee-hee/lol!
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By: JaNee on 1/15/2011 7:37PM
LMAO!! I WONDER??
This truly is a sad sad article. Where are these girls mothers & fathers? Ok, well the fathers are probably walking right past their daughers on the street and don't even realize it's their child! I just hope none of the fathers are having sex with their own daughters due to the fact that they don't even know they belond to them!! OMG!!
Truly awful
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By: ARNEADER on 1/16/2011 12:23AM
This is 2011 there is no reason for a person to get pregnant unless they WANT to! I don't feel sorry for none of them.
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By: Focus on the Real Issue on 1/20/2011 3:19PM
I think it goes a little deeper than just saying no baby and no sex. I think they all are aware that they should use protection and that raising a child is hard...the real focus should be on why despite all that, do they feel the need to have a child. I think it's a self-esteem issue. The poor, esp. poor & black, have been told that that's where they will stay and so they do not try to expose themselves to more.
They need to be exposed to other options and no there is more to life than boys & babies. They need self-esteem classes and they need strong mentors who can really emphasize and push them toward other options.
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By: jamie on 2/15/2011 1:23AM
@ schoolsarent safe isnt supplying buildings for home schooling the same as school? its going to happen whether its at school in a home or anywhere you really need to rethink your post
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By: Gabrielle on 4/14/2011 5:55PM
I'm sorry to hear this I learn that it so streesed touch hard for this girl. I go Parkway North HIgh School in creve coure by saint louis county library.
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