The Family Nurturing Center is committed to child, parent, and family. We know that children are different, parents are different; families are different. however, we all have the same basic needs.

Parents are first and foremost teachers. Research shows that the greater the number of experiences a child has, the greater number of "connections" made in the brain. By providing opportunities for children to bond with adults whose own lives exemplify a deep commitment to children, we can ensure that each child will develop to his fullest potential.

The Family Nurturing Center of McComb is designed to ensure economic stability of teen parents and their children through a program of educational awareness and parenting skills. We will also provide an age appropriate developmental program for children enrolled in the center to ensure the readiness of children to enter into an educational program upon their departure from the Family Nurturing Center.

Even Start Program

The purpose of Even Start Family Literacy is to help break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by improving the educational opportunities of low-income families through the integration of the following four components into a unified family literacy program for parents and children from birth through age seven:

• Childhood Education - age appropriate education to prepare children for success in school and life experiences
• Adult Literacy - parent literacy training that leads to economic self-sufficiency
• Parenting Education - training for parents on how to be the primary teacher for their children and full partners in the education of their children
• Interactive literacy between parents and their children

The McComb School District collaborated with federal and local agencies to provide these services. As a school district, we are committed to developing and providing assistance in family literacy.

Teen Nurturing Program

The Teen Nurturing Program was developed to help young mothers complete their education. The program has been helping young mothers in the McComb School District since 2001. Many of our participants are at-risk youth that would have dropped out of school without our encouragement and support. The required McComb High School parenting classes combined with the continued monthly group support session not only encourage success as a parent, it encourages them to succeed as individuals. We help each student with college placement, employment skills, life skills, and continued support after completion of the program. It is our hope that they become "better parents for better children with the opportunity for a better tomorrow."

The Teen Nurturing Program is designed to ensure economic stability of teen parents and their children through a program of educational awareness and parenting skills. We also provide an age appropriate developmental educational program for the children enrolled with their parents in the Family Nurturing Center. This program helps to ensure the readiness of the child to enter into an educational program upon their departure from the early educational childcare center located at Higgins Middle School.

The program was created to help teen parents of the McComb School District stay in school and graduate with their class. Our overall objective is to increase graduation rates and decrease drop out rates among our youth.

Referrals to the program can be made to the program coordinator, school nurse or school counselors.