The Promise Project

Promoting Independence and Success through Education

Teen parenthood is a leading reason why 26% of young people drop out in the U.S. each year.1 When applied to Massachusetts droppout data, teen parenthood accounts for approximately 2,232 of our students who leave school each year.2 Through the Promise Project, the Alliance aims to identify and promote policies that increase educational opportunity and success for pregnant and parenting teens in Massachusetts.

The Promise Project’s long term goal is to increase the number of pregnant and parenting teens who complete high school or GED programs and pursue higher education.

The Promise Project Report
The Alliance released its report Expecting Success: How Policymakers and Educators Can Help Teen Parents Stay in School. The report presents findings and policy recommendations based on data collected from teen parents, teen parent service providers and educators. The research presented in this report reveals that many teens who were headed toward dropping out become re-committed to school once they become parents, but that these youth need family, schools, and teen parent programs that both support them and set high expectations for their success. Click here for methodology and sample characteristics.

Why the Promise Project is important

• Although some teen parents are successful at reaching their educational goals, many face significantbarriers to graduating: teen parenthood is a leading reason 26% of young people leave school in the U.S.3
• Teen parenthood is the leading cause of high school dropout among girls 4 It is a primary reason that 19% of males leave school.5
• If teens delay pregnancy until they are 20 or older, they are nearly twice as likely to have graduated from high school and at least three times as likely to complete college.6

• In MA there were 4,944 teen births to 15-19 year olds in 2007. 7
• Poor educational outcomes are not inevitable for teen parents! With the necessary supports and high expectations for success, pregnant and parenting teens reach their educational aspirations.
• The Promise Project aims to increase high school graduation and its associated outcomes, such as employment rates, positive health outcomes, median annual earnings, and enrollment in higher education.8

Primary project components

The Alliance and teen parents will:

1. Research policies that impact educational attainment;
2. Initiate a state and local level survey of teen parents to identify policies that influence pregnant and parenting teens in reaching their educational goals;
3. Partner with schools or school districts to implement key recommendations; and
4. Lobby for public policies that support educational attainment among pregnant and parenting teens.

For more information, contact Liz Umbro, Public Policy Manager,
p: 617-482-9122 x101 e: umbro@massteeenpregnancy.org

1. 1. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (2006). The silent epidemic: Perspectives of high school dropouts. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://www.gatesfoundation.org/united-states/Documents/TheSilentEpidemic...
2. 2. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, High School Dropouts 2008–09 Massachusetts Public Schools, found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/infoservices/reports/dropout/0708/summary.pdf, 2009
3. 3. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (2006). The silent epidemic: Perspectives of high school dropouts. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://www.gatesfoundation.org/united-states/Documents/TheSilentEpidemic...
4. 4. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, Why It Matters: Teen Pregnancy and Education
5. 5. The National Women’s Law Center (2007). When Girls Don’t Graduate We All Fail. Washington, D.C.
6. 6. National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unintended Pregnancy (2006). By the Numbers: The Public Costs of Teen Childbearing. Washington, D.C.
7. 7. O’Keefe, G., Cohen, B., & Nyberg, S. (2009, February). Massachusetts Births 2007. Boston: Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
8. 8. The National Women’s Law Center (2007). When Girls Don’t Graduate We All Fail. Washington, D.C.