TCTC Class helps parent students graduate

The program started at the school in 1995.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CHAMPION -- Tiffany Kassander, 18, sometimes hears her teacher's voice echo in her head as she deals with the challenges of preparing for parenthood while trying to finish high school.
Kassander, a senior from Mineral Ridge High School, is enrolled in the Graduation, Reality and Dual-Role Skills, or GRADS, class started at Trumbull Career and Technical Center in 1995.
It targets pregnant and parenting teens. The program started nationally in 1980.
"Sometimes, we think, 'Miss Barkett, why are you telling us this? That's just common sense,'" Kassander said. "Then you're in that situation and you hear her voice."
Kassander, a student in TCTC's patient-care technology program, is expecting a child in early September. She plans to attend nursing school after graduation.
The goal
"The whole objective is to encourage the students, both male and female, to stay in school and graduate," said Cheryl Barkett, a TCTC GRADS teacher.
Barkett started with the program in its first year. She and two other TCTC GRADS teachers, Jean DeSocio and Sharon Neiss, travel to other schools, conducting the class throughout Trumbull County.
Barkett instructs 39 students throughout the county. Sessions run two days per week.
Topics covered include nutrition and prenatal care, parenting skills, shaken baby syndrome, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and birth control.
Students are referred to GRADS by a teacher or counselor, but participation is optional.
Besides instructing on prenatal care and parenting, the class lets students, most of whom are girls, talk with others their age who are dealing with the same challenges.
"There's a lot of support," Barkett said.
Rochelle Schrecengost, 18, a senior from Lakeview, and Alicia Fabian, 18, a senior from Mathews, both enrolled in GRADS near the beginning of this school year to prepare for parenthood.
Schrecengost's daughter, Jayden, and Fabian's son, Austin, both were born about two months ago.
Without the instruction, "I wouldn't have known what was happening when I was in labor," said Schrecengost, who's in the restaurant services program and plans to enter college next year.
Fabian, who wants to stay home after graduating to watch her baby develop, agrees she's also learned a lot.
"It's been really helpful," she said.
According to a fact sheet from the Ohio GRADS program, of the Ohio students enrolled in the 2000 to 2001 school year, the most recent year for which statistics are available, about 83 percent graduated or re-entered school by September 2001.
Keep a journal
Participants keep a journal of class notes, inspirational quotes and reflections that they can take home so it's accessible when needed. Each earns a certificate upon completion.
"I wrote something on the back of each of these certificates because I want everyone to remember that you are special," Barkett said while distributing certificates on a recent morning.
Students also hear speakers from social service agencies and programs dealing with family and children's issues to learn about the services available. They can enroll anytime throughout the school year and may continue through their school career.
Because classes are relatively small, individualized attention benefits each student even if they enter halfway through or late in the school year, Barkett says. Although she prepares lessons, Barkett must be ready to change course if a student raises a question that generates a lot of discussion and moves class off the plan.
"No two days are alike," the teacher said.
TCTC has offered the course for several years, but it keeps a low profile, Barkett said.
"We're just here for the students," she said.
denise_dick@vindy.com