OKC's Emerson High School Opening Additional Spots For Childcare, Students

An OKCPS High School that serves both students and their children is opening up additional spots for childcare.  

High school senior Giovanna Torres utilizes the services at Emerson Alternative Education for her baby, Evelyn.

Their respective classrooms are in the same building.

“It's a really great opportunity because that way I can come to school and so can Dad, and we're soon to graduate in December,” Torres said.

Torres said it’s hard to imagine what her family would do without Emerson.

“We never thought we would have had a baby. Last year I was here, and I was pregnant,” Torres said.

Torres is raising her baby and finishing high school all at once.

Baby Evelyn is also getting a start on her education, in classroom childcare setting.

“She's learned a lot of things here than I think she would have learned at home,” Torres said.

District officials said they know there are others in Oklahoma City with similar stories.

That's why Emerson is opening up an additional classroom and with it, eight new childcare slots for this year.

“We do want to fill those openings because we know that there are parenting students that are in the city who have dropped out of high school or they're current situation is not working for them,” Director of Early Childhood for OKCPS, Stephanie Hinton said.

Hinton said this is about helping parents, and eventually their children graduate.

“Research tells us that when our moms finish high school, our babies are going to finish high school,” Hinton said.

Those eight spots childcare spots and their corresponding parent spots can be filled by going into the school to register.