Shymari Freeman gave birth at age 12, and shortly after the start of her senior year last fall, she and her daughter, Journey, now 6, moved into an apartment in the city’s West End.

Although happy to have a place to call her own, the Brashear High School student found herself without some of the essentials: towels, a vacuum, pots and pans. She turned to the school district’s program that provides free services for pregnant and parenting teens — the same team that sent her home with diapers and clothes for her baby when Ms. Freeman was a middle-schooler at Langley K-8.

Now 19, Ms. Freeman will graduate in June and plans to attend the Community College of Allegheny County to study nursing.

“It takes a lot of things off your shoulders and a lot of stress off of you. … There’s no way you should drop out if you’re in the program,” she said. “If there’s no way, they’ll make a way.”

The district’s Education Leading to Employment and Career Training program, housed in the old South High annex building on the South Side, is led by Carolyn Rychcik, who started as assistant coordinator in 2001.

A similar program has existed since the 1980s but not nearly as coordinated or robust as ELECT, whose efforts are funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and overseen by the state Department of Education, she said. This year, Pittsburgh Public’s iteration, the state’s second-largest of 29, has so far served 219 low-income expectant or parenting teens.

Case managers, known as teen parent advocates, are assigned to high schools in the district and some also work with students in the middle schools. They plan events for teens and their families and conduct home visits.

Teen pregnancy rates have fallen steadily overall nationwide, reaching a record low in 2015. Now head of the program at PPS, Ms. Rychcik, too, is serving fewer students these days. But she said those seeking help have starkly greater needs.

“I’m buying more underwear, bras, just the basic necessities. It’s heartbreaking at times.”

Shymari Freeman, 19, walks her daughter, Journey, 6, to their apartment in Crafton Heights on Tuesday after a dentist’s appointment. She is on track to graduate from Brashear High School in June and plans to study nursing. (Stephanie Strasburg/Post-Gazette)

Much of the program’s resources come from its $1.2 million yearly budget, but Ms. Rychcik has been known to dip into her own pockets when in need of a creative solution.

One weekend in December, when she couldn’t find a space large enough to store the hams and turkeys the program was giving away to teen parents at its upcoming winter dance, she rented a minivan to use as a “mobile meat freezer.” The outside temperature stayed cold enough to keep them fresh.

And just this month, school officials said the dress Ms. Freeman selected for prom was slightly too revealing, so Ms. Rychcik ran out to buy her a camisole to wear underneath. (Ms. Freeman had the dress mended.)

“Carolyn does a great job of meeting the students where they need the help. She knows the students, and she meets their needs,” said Deb Blascovich, the state education department’s program officer for ELECT.

Buoyant and chatty, Ms. Rychick doesn’t shy away from telling others about the program and seeking contributions in the process. Two years ago, she asked an employee making faux boutonnières and corsages at the Robinson Michael’s if she could buy some for the pregnant or parenting teens who can’t splurge on real flowers. The woman now makes them custom for each student.

Even Ms. Rychcik’s stylist donates hair products she no longer uses.

She tells them, “You know I never say no to anything.”

A favorite feature is the program’s “baby bucks” store, located at the program’s South Side office, where students can use “money” they’ve earned through good attendance, volunteering or meeting other school or program benchmarks. Their Philadelphia counterparts started a similar program after their bosses praised Pittsburgh’s, Ms. Rychcik said.

“There are times kids will just show up, and we’re like, ‘We’re not Target,’” she said, laughing.

“It’s like spending real money at another store,” Ms. Freeman said.

Another population Ms. Rychcik has found her team serving more over the years are those in charter or cyber schools. Although the ELECT program is voluntary, it is offered to district and charter students alike. Charter students who participate in the program come from schools including Hill House Passport Academy and PA Cyber.

Ms. Rychcik said it’s especially important for her to reach these students who might slip through the cracks. She’s concerned she might have fewer students in her program overall “because I don’t know where these kids are going if they get pregnant.”

“We just found a lot of students are going to do alternate means of education. ... We know the brick-and-mortar school isn’t the norm. We’re trying to adapt to the needs of the students.”

Ms. Rychcik said she also wants to do more for teen fathers. She recently hired a pair of advocates whose work will center on that population, even those housed in Shuman Juvenile Detention Center. And for the second summer, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia’s ELECT programs will host a “daddy boot camp.”

From July 5 to Aug. 17, all Pittsburgh ELECT participants can come for the program’s fifth annual summer day camp. Speakers will discuss learning through play, brain development and literacy, and students can earn “baby bucks” by attending.

Molly Born: mborn@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1944.

First Published: May 31, 2017, 4:00 a.m.