The Weber School District recently closed its CTE Child Care Lab at Two Rivers High School. This was not an easy decision to eliminate a program that had served teen students with children for many years, but with dwindling enrollment numbers, it was no longer economically feasible to continue offering this service.
The lab was costing about $55,000 annually to operate which included employing a full-time and two part-time aids. At the end of the 2016 school year, there were only three students taking advantage of the program. Although it’s hard to pinpoint an exact reason, several factors such as changes in the state’s curriculum and enhanced online education options, most likely contributed to a steady decline in enrollment.
The school announced the closure of the lab about a year in advance to give eligible students the opportunity to look at other alternatives. Those options included participation in another CTE Child Care Lab being offered at one of our other four high schools in the district, as well as enrollment in our online education program.
There are also other resources being offered in the community to assist teen mothers who want to continue their education. One is the Early Head Start Program that offers free child care so students can attend school. This federally funded program through the Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership (OWCAP), currently has sixteen spots available for teens with infants and toddlers. For information, please visit their website at www.owcap.org/headstart
The Weber School District will continue to help and serve all students in hopes of providing the best possible education given their individual circumstances. Additional resources are available by contacting Student Services at (801)476-3611.
