LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- A special school in Louisville received a check for nearly half a million dollars Monday morning.
After federal funding was cut, one Kentucky lawmaker lobbied his fellow legislators in Frankfort asking for money for the Teenage Parent Program, or TAPP -- and it worked. Rep. Larry Clark took about 40 students from the teenage parent program to speak to the House Budget Committee in Frankfort, asking them to support the program so it can continue.
Clark says when those students testified before lawmakers and told their personal stories, lawmakers could not say no. Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear said education is the key to success for the young mothers and their children, and that the TAPP program provides an alternative to dropping out of school.
The graduation rate at TAPP schools is 97 percent. As a parent and grandparent, First Lady Beshear said she knows the value of an education: "But now that my sons are grown, and my grandchildren are coming of age to be in school, I've decided that those are not my only children. My children are you -- and they are your children. And they're all the children of Kentucky."
A check for just over $450,000 was presented to the school. JCPS Superintendent Dr. Donna Hargens and Rep. Clark were present. An added surprise was AT&T teaming up with the Family Scholar House and providing $20,000 in scholarships for the TAPP school.
