Capital High Parenting Program Nurtures Young Parents with Support, Education and Community

Beautiful girl, you can do hard things. 

Written in black, swooping, sloping, cursive letters on an oversized tapestry, it’s almost impossible to miss the message that hangs from the wall of the Capital High School classroom. 

Pinned on the bottom corner is a baby blue satin sash that reads mommy to be with a set of baby footprints. MMSD Parenting and Childbirth Health Educator Jessie Loeb smiled softly, her eyes crinkling, as she recalled the former student who brought it in after her baby shower. 

Loeb is one of many MMSD staff members and community partners who help lead the Capital High Parenting Program, formerly known as SAPAR. The program officially opened its doors in the new Capital High location in August 2023. 

The transition turned a two-semester program into a four-year trajectory, offering students who are pregnant or parenting not only core academic subjects but crucial coursework for any caregiver: parenting skills, infant CPR, child development, prenatal health information and more. The program also provides free childcare through partnerships with Reach Dane and UW-Madison, located just down the hallway.

“The students who come to the program, they want to take care of themselves through education, because they want to do right by their children,” Loeb said. “They are fantastic people with the most wonderful qualities, which makes you a better teacher.”

One of these students is sophomore Rashell, who joined the program in September 2024 and is a mom to two-year-old Angel. She turned her phone around to reveal photos of a smiling, dark-haired toddler whose round cheeks were coated with beans at dinnertime. 

“Sometimes I forget I'm 16 and I have a two-year-old. It’s like I forget about my own age,” Rashell said. “If I would have started the program when I was pregnant, I feel like it would have been so much better. My prenatal care, my birthing process, everything. If any student does end up getting pregnant at an early age, they should come to Capital High so they can learn everything they need.” 

Rashell shared how the program’s partnerships with Reach Dane and UW-Madison have been incredibly helpful for Angel, who was born with spina bifida and requires additional medical support. Through Reach Dane’s Early Head Start childcare, offered right at Capital High for the Parenting Program, child development specialists visit and offer strategies to help babies and toddlers reach milestones.

Other resources offered through the program, such as Safe Kids Wisconsin and UW Health’s partnership, provide a series of trainings for students to learn how to properly install and use car seats. If completed, each student ends the course with a brand new car seat for their child at no cost. 

Within the classroom, Loeb leads pregnancy and parenting classes for students within the Parenting Program. This creates a safe, dedicated environment for students to address their real-time concerns or questions, even if it means shifting the lesson plan for the day.

“The goal is to give students a place and time just to know that there are other shared experiences, without judgment, without stigma,” Loeb said. “The better prenatal care one gets, the healthier birth outcomes become. You can be in school, earn your credits towards graduation and get specialized support.”

The bond between students reflects the heart of the program: young women uplifting each other through shared experiences, resilience and the unshakable instinct to care–not just for their children, but for one another.

Connection and collaboration also thrive among Capital High staff. Loeb credits school counselor Marianne Matt with ensuring the pregnancy and parenting classes were dedicated for students in the program. School social worker Kelli Semrau and registered nurse Stephanie Gramann are consistently providing resources and care to all students. 

“Every adolescent is challenged by obstacles because basic needs are not being met. But when you're a pregnant or parenting teen, that multiplies,” Loeb said. “The staff are the sweetest people. The teachers really do love their students, and are so understanding and put them first.”

Gramann and Loeb collaborated with former Capital High Parenting volunteer and PhD recipient Kate Westaby to apply for a $50,000 grant through the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment. The program was awarded the grant in early February, clearing a path to provide tailored health assessments, connections to prenatal care and doulas, mental health counseling, peer support networks, educational mentoring and more. 

Westaby, who was a teenage parent herself and recently completed her PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at UW-Madison, was a lead writer for the grant. She also formed the Young Parent Collective, which conducts research and advocates for resources for young parents and builds a strong, supportive community across Dane County. 

In line with MMSD’s efforts to prepare all students for community, career and college, Westaby recently presented her dissertation results to MMSD administrators, displaying the disparities in educational outcomes for young parents. For example, young parents are 42% less likely to be able to access postsecondary education than their peers who are not parenting. 

While the grant planning team determines exactly which goals to fund, multiple projects are top of mind, such as increasing healthcare access and expanding resources to pregnant or parenting teens at other MMSD high schools.

“I want young parents in the district to feel supported and, importantly, to have strong pathways to college where they often don’t exist,” Westaby said. “And I want them to know their dreams and lives aren’t over and MMSD and the Young Parent Collective can help.”

As Loeb put it plainly, pressing her hands onto legs and leaning forward with her shoulders high, “parenting is hard.”

“We as a society might think we know the story behind a teen pregnancy. When in reality, it’s not our story to tell, judge or question,” Loeb said. “Being a school district where we can support so many students that have different needs, it's a pretty incredible thing.”