Linda Moses of Connected Learning Centre, Tangaroa College
Linda’s background is teaching Home Economics. She started teaching in NZ in 1979. When she later joined Penrose High School in 1991 she set up a “Life Study” programme, which taught students employment skills, personal relationships, parenting and financial management. The course was accredited by the new unit standards assessment of the time.
During this period, Linda noticed increasing numbers of students becoming pregnant and dropping out of education. She therefore welcomed the opportunity to set up a Teen Parent Unit at Tangaroa College, called the Connected Learning Centre (CLC). It opened in 2006 when teen pregnancies were at their peak – 33 per thousand pregnancies were teenage mothers compared to 16 per thousand now.
Decrease in birth rate over recent years has been helped by improvement in health education and contraceptive methods like the rod implants in the arm, known as Jadelle. However, studies have found teen pregnancies are often related to serious social issues, poverty and unemployment.
The CLC is located on the school grounds of Tangaroa College, which is known as the ‘Host school’. The Ministry of Education funds the centre through the host school and Linda and her team work in partnership with the school management and the Board of Trustees. Linda’s role was as Director and the CLC accommodates 20 students. The funding includes the salary of the Director and one other full-time teacher.
The earlier Teen Parent Units, were mostly run in centres off site from the host school because of the earlier stigma related to teenage pregnancy. Each Teen Parent Unit serves a catchment area, not just the school that hosts it. Running costs for centres are high, with one of the biggest expenses being supplying a school bus for the travel of mother and baby to and from school. An Early Childhood Centre is located on site, and it has to be financially viable. This has been achieved at Tangaroa College by the ECE being open to the community.
Students that come to the centre are helped with setting goals and are put into an educational programme that is suitable for them. Students are taught core subjects in the CLC and can enroll for specific subjects through Te Kura programme. The students mostly range from Year 10/11 and as they progress with their learning they are able to join some of the classes in the main school. The aim is for all students to have at least Level 2 NCEA before leaving school. When a student enrolls at the centre they are required to bring a ‘Responsible Adult’ with them. This provides the opportunity for the staff to build a partnership with the whanau of the teen parent. It always provides an informative insight into the young woman’s background, identifying strengths and weakness.
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Katrina Cole and Linda Moses – our Guest Speaker
Establishing secure attachment between mother and baby is essential for the future well-being of the child. The baby stays in the centre until they are 6 months old or ready to transition to the ECE. The centre aims on building resilience in students and for the students to bring up happy well-adjusted children. The teen’s journey through the programme takes on average, a good three years because it is critical for the teen parent to be present in their child’s life. While passing assessments is desirable, there is usually another opportunity but that is not the same for the mother and child’s early attachment.
Many outside agencies are involved with the centre and share information, and they include WINZ, Plunket, Otara Law, NZ Police, Department of Labour, Social Workers and others.
Some of the teen mums have younger siblings to look after too. Often the experience of being a teen mum makes them stop at one child. The supportive friendships that start between the young women continue on. Facebook has provided Linda with a valuable platform for seeing how well the students stay connected and move forward successfully with their lives.
The recipient of Rotary Highbrook’s Connected Learning Centre for 2017 was Gwen. Gwen had many challenges in 2017 including her mum passing away earlier that year. Whilst still in grief, she had to move home with her baby Ernest and share responsibility for younger siblings. Linda suggested that Gwen and her son could come to one of the future Rotary meetings to talk about her experiences in the CLC. Barbara Sullivan the adult literacy and numeracy tutor would probably be happy to bring her.
Mary Ann asked how else our club could support the centre, and Linda said we could provide support in the classroom. Further discussion will be with Linda so we can look to see how we can make this this happen.
What a fantastic impact this organization is making to the lives of many young mums and babies that are in vulnerable situations in our community. CLC guide them through the most difficult time in their lives and help them to plan a better future for their new and young families. Rotary Highbrook are proud to be a part of supporting such a great and positive organization that is making a difference in our communities.
