LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For teenage mothers, it's challenging to juggle both school and parenting. A Kentucky school provides an education setting for students who are pregnant or have a child. 

At 13, Deborah Thomas found out she was pregnant and she feared what her future would look like. 

“We all make mistakes. Some of us get caught in those mistakes. Some of those mistakes are more visible than others,” Thomas, a former student with the Georgia Chaffee Teenage Parent Program, said. 

That fall, she enrolled in the first cohort of the program, also known as TAPP. The program is an alternative school for middle and high school girls who are pregrant or have children. It was there she was able to find support and empowerment.

“I was not damaged goods and that I still had a future and I had a place to develop and an atmosphere where I could continue to develop that place and that pathway that has been chosen for my life,” Thomas shared.

She now manages Campbellsville University’s Louisville operations. She came back to TAPP to speak to current students about respecting themselves, moving forward and continuing their higher education  

High school junior Isabella Mimms said Thomas’ story has given her reassurance.  “It makes me want to grow up and be something big and come back to TAPP and talk to everyone that was in my seats,” Mimms said. 

Thomas wants the students to know they can achieve their goals. “I think that they all know inside that there’s something great on the inside and they just needed to be reminded of that,” She said. 

TAPP provides services addressing illness, child care and medical access on site. 

TAPP follows the Jefferson County Public Schools academic curriculum and offers resources for family programs, which include counseling, clothing and food assistance.