Pregnant high school students tend to fall into the stereotype of uneducated low-achievers. The stress of balancing school, extracurricular activities and a pregnancy can be overwhelming. But this assumption couldn’t be more wrong for Sadie Fletcher, who takes on the pressures of school and raising her first child at the age of 17.

Fletcher and her boyfriend, Tommy Kocher, joined Freedom High School from Orange County this year as seniors. The two agreed that their new guidance counselor, Ms. Smith, helped immensely with graduating on time with the class of 2018, even though Sadie was set to soon deliver her baby.

“Being pregnant didn’t give me the luxury of being able to relax or be catered to like normal stereotypes,” said Fletcher. “I still had to get up at 5 am and deal with the school day up until my delivery.”

High schools across the U.S have different ways of handling pregnant students. Some states, such as Wisconsin, Idaho, Nebraska, and South Dakota, punish these students for their necessary absences with suspensions or detentions, or even have these students removed from the school.

Other areas, such as Washington, D.C and Florida, give expecting students the option to take online classes and provide a clear process to make up work when absent.

“My aunt and uncle have been very supportive and helpful. Sadie and I plan to attend HCC [Hillsborough Community College] after graduation,” stated Kocher.

While preferred support programs would include child care, tutoring and other forms of assistance, Fletcher and Kocher were able to work through their obstacles to graduate and raise their new baby girl.

Support programs would not only benefit the expecting student, but would not burden tax payers greatly, as they would prevent the students from becoming dependent on welfare on the future.

Fletcher concluded, “The fact that the school is such a big campus meant more walking and more pain while I was pregnant. I also had a lot of unnecessary classes. However, I will continue to go to school until I graduate early in January, so I can start college classes early.”

The daughter, Adelynn Kocher, was born Tuesday, October 24^th. The couple is excited to raise her together and continue to work towards a higher education.