The Programs address the issues of adolescent pregnancy including educational needs, pregnancy prevention, teenage parenting and healthy families. Arlington Better Beginnings Coalition, March of Dimes, Bell Atlantic, Marasco Newton, the Arlington Health Foundation, Education for Independence, Arlington Community Development Block Grants, Alpha Xi Delta, Arlington County Department of Human Services, Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation, Virginia Extension Services, and the local faith community. The Family Education Center is an alternative educational program, available by choice, for pregnant teens enrolled in Arlington Public Schools. Young women who give birth before completing high school are particularly at risk for severe economic and educational disadvantages. Therefore, the program addresses the multiple challenges facing teens who are becoming parents by providing academic, vocational and parenting instruction within the framework of comprehensive health and social services.
Students enter the program at various stages of pregnancy.
While at the Family Education Center, the student maintains her base school classes. Over the past 28 years, more than 1,200 pregnant teens have had the opportunity to continue their secondary education at the Family Education Center. In 1984, the American Vocational Education Association and Kellogg Foundation selected the Family Education Center as one of the six best parenting education programs in the United States. Links to other websites related to teenage parenting. Back to top Alternatives for Parenting Teens is an innovative year-round alternative school program for a small group of teenage mothers and their children.