OKLAHOMA CITY – With high school comes challenges like making the grades and thinking about college, but imagine doing that as a parent.
U.S. Grant has teen moms enrolled in school but thanks to a new daycare inside the high school, these moms say things will be okay.
“I`m an athlete, I play volleyball, I run track and I play basketball,” said Darayah Sellers.
Sellers is also a mom.
“My grandmother was like you can’t have a baby while you’re at Grant,” she said.
Sellers said at one point she believed her grandmother because before she had her son, U.S. Grant had no childcare program for its students.
That changed in January when the “Little Generals Day Care” opened, giving Sellers and other teen parents a chance to learn while their babies also learn; all in the same building.
“He’s learned how to walk, he’s learned how to say mom, no, stop,” said Sellers.
‘No’ and ‘stop’ are words she says she learning not to use when it comes to her future.
“Don’t give up, keep going because people said you can’t do it, you can’t do this and you can’t do that just keep going,” Sellers said.
Little Generals currently serves six babies and toddlers.
Project partners like Sunbeam applied for federal grants to get the daycare running for children 5 and under for low income families.
“We have a great need for our teen parents and this is the best way to do it,” said Pam Hibbs, director of early childhood development.
Here these parents get resources and even credit for spending time with their little ones.
“These teens need support and their babies are getting a top notch early childhood development,” said Hibbs.
An A-plus in Sellers’ book.
“My motivation will make him keep going in the long run because I feel like when he grows up he`s going to see: she went to high school when she still had me,” Sellers said.
This is the second childcare project in the school district, the other at Emerson high school.