Mesa High School in Mesa, Arizona celebrated teen moms this year with a two-page spread on high school mothers.
The school’s decision to celebrate teen parents is making headlines.
FOX 10 News | myfoxphoenix.com
MyFOXPhoenix reported:
The students who work on the yearbook at Mesa High School wanted to include a few pages featuring teen parents, since they figured those kids may not have ended up in any photos otherwise. Pregnant and parenting teens probably didn’t have enough time to participate in other school events, like the homecoming dance. “We thought it would be a good idea to put them on the page where they could be seen,” a student on the yearbook staff explained to a Fox News affiliate.
But other residents in the Arizona town didn’t see it that way. The two-page spread — which features several student parents speaking honestly about the joys and challenges of raising their children — ended up sparking quite a controversy after the yearbooks landed in students’ hands.
Angry parents called the high school principal to ask why those photos ended up in the yearbook. Most of them expressed concern that the feature was glamorizing teen pregnancy, or encouraging other kids to become sexually active.
“It makes it look cute, and like I’m doing so great… It doesn’t really convey the reality of what they’re going through,” Shelly Adams, one mother of a Mesa High student, told 12 News. “My main message is wait, wait for the right time, which would not be when you’re in high school,” Grace Edwards, whose granddaughter attends the school, added.
“It makes it look cute, and like I’m doing so great… It doesn’t really convey the reality of what they’re going through,” Shelly Adams, one mother of a Mesa High student, told 12 News. “My main message is wait, wait for the right time, which would not be when you’re in high school,” Grace Edwards, whose granddaughter attends the school, added.