Louise Dean graduates, students come together in effort to save school for teen moms

The walk of shame.

Tina Cobey says that's what Louise Dean students used to call the walk into school each morning.

It was the 1980s, and the program for pregnant teens and young moms was at Ernest Manning High School.

Every morning, Cobey would walk her newborn son in his stroller through the front doors, past all other students, all the way to Louise Dean's designated wing at the back of the school in southwest Calgary.

There, the Louise Dean students established a sense of pride in the community they created. Cobey says they had all the support they needed — a daycare, counsellors and trained staff who worked closely with social services.

But they couldn't ignore the name-calling and discrimination they'd face by high school students who weren't in the program.

"It made you question your decision every single day. It made you question your integrity, and it made you question your self-worth," said Cobey, who graduated from the school shortly after.

Now a married mother of three, Cobey is concerned about the Calgary Board of Education's proposal to shutter the current school in West Hillhurst and relocate the program to Jack James High School in Forest Lawn.

"They've been able to bring themselves beyond the reputation and beyond the stigma. And now? They're being kind of thrown in with the wolves," said Cobey, who also attended Jack James for a year.

Too costly to repair current school, says CBE

According to Sept. 27 board meeting notes, the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) is proposing to relocate Louise Dean Centre because its current home, the 75-year-old Kensington School in the city's northwest, is too costly to repair, and program enrolment is declining.

The board meeting notes include resounding opposition from current students and staff to the move.

Repairing the old building would cost approximately $17 million, compared with $5.6 million to relocate the program to Jack James.

Relocating would also decrease the average travel time for current students from 53 minutes to 40 minutes, according to the meeting notes.

According to a statement from CBE, it would also be beneficial to Jack James students, who may benefit from increased supports — including "increasing access to education and co-parenting to expectant and parenting fathers."

Ilyanna Szigety graduated from Louise Dean Centre last year and told CBC News that the majority of students don't have a healthy, supportive relationship with their child's father.

"I don't feel like using that as a selling point is really relevant at all because most of these women are single moms."

Concerns about violence, drugs, program closing

Barbara Oliveira, a current senior at Louise Dean Centre, says the school changed her life.

She even named her two-year-old daughter Louise after the school. Louise's middle name is Phoenix — representing rebirth.

"Rebirth of my dreams. Rebirth of my hopes and for my future. That's what the school brought to me, so it's literally in her name," Oliveira said.

She says she's concerned about bullying and drugs at Jack James High School, though she notes those issues exist in other high schools as well.

Mercedez Loughlin, another alumnus, is mainly concerned about violence. She used to live in Forest Lawn, across from Jack James High School, and has seen many fights break out.

There have been a number of shootings in Forest Lawn this year — a year that's seen an increase in gun violence in Calgary.

Szigety says she's afraid this is a move to dissolve the program.

"When the Jack James principal came to Louise Dean and told us this news, the entire graduating class said they would have dropped out if this happened in their year," said Szigety.

Another alumna, Catherine Landry, agrees.

"If girls wanted to attend high school with other teenagers, they already have that opportunity to do so. But they go to Louise Dean for a safe, welcoming, judge-free environment," said Landry, who graduated as valedictorian in 2019.

"Going to Jack James — high school girls will not want to attend. They will not feel welcome. They will drop out of high school. And the program will fail due to lack of enrolment."

Support grows for standalone location

Loughlin and Landry have been at the helm, gathering students and alumnae on social media to share their voices about the program relocation.

They created a Facebook group, SAVE LDC, which now has over 400 members. A petition they started has garnered more than 3,500 signatures.

They're calling on the CBE to relocate Louise Dean Centre to another standalone building, where they won't be mixed in with other students.

"I just hope the program can stay open, stay in their own location and be able to be recognized like other schools out there," said Loughlin.

In a statement, a CBE spokesperson says if the proposed relocation is approved, each student would receive a personalized and individual transition plan to address their learning, supports and safety.

The CBE would spend $5.6 million to create dedicated learning spaces, additional child-minding space and a partner office space for the Louise Dean Centre program.

The statement said the CBE is holding an evening virtual meeting on Nov. 1 to hear public input — though Oliveira says it's at an inaccessible time for students.

The CBE's board of trustees is accepting questions and written submissions until Nov. 22.

The trustees will make the final decision about the proposed relocation at their public board meeting on Nov. 29.