NEWS
How a Free Early Learning Program Educates Toddlers, Teen Parents and Their Families
1/18/2024- EdSurge
NEW YORK — Loyal Harmoni Harris travels every day to Bronx Regional High School, where she learns emotional, motor and language skills. Loyal is a bit younger than the other students at the high school — in fact, she’s only 2 years old.
That’s because Loyal is part of a unique New York City program called LYFE — Living for the Young Family Through Education. LYFE offers free early childhood education to student parents attending city public schools. Loyal’s mother, Honesti Melendez, is 16 and attends high school in the same building where her daughter learns.
Hometown Hero: Taking a City Program and Turning it into a Lifeline for Generations to Come
10/29/2019 | New York Daily News
LYFE Principal, Dr. Kara Ahmed has been nominated for the Daily News Hometown Hero award by Access School's Executive Superintendent Dr. Tim Lisante.
Dr. Ahmed is highlighted for her extraordinary work as a transformative leader, unifying the LYFE program and enhancing the early childhood education, as well as LYFE's advocacy and support services provided to both student parents and their families.
Dr. Ahmed's nomination also speaks to the work each staff member contributes to daily and acknowledges that what LYFE offers, not only impacts the lives of three generations, but is setting the mark nationally for high-quality support systems.
Read more about Dr. Ahmed's exceptional leadership and innovative approach to early childhood education and family support here: Kara Ahmed - Hometown Hero
Let's keep aspiring to inspire like Dr. Ahmed!
Peggy Diercks-Henfling
Master Teacher; LYFE Program
12/2019 | TCP Newsletter: Teacher Leadership News and Resources, December 2019
Chancellor's Community Chat #DOEinYourBorough
6/14/2019 | NYC Department of Education's Facebook Page
LYFE Program Helps Teen Parents Graduate High School in New York City
3/15/2019 | ABC7
A New York City Department of Education program provides free early childhood education to children of student parents, and it's making a big difference in the lives of the students, their children, and their parents.
When High Schoolers are Parents, Parent-Teacher Conference are a Three-Generation Affair
4/7/2017 | Chalkbeat
When Jainellah Henry found out she was pregnant at 14 years old, she felt like any other teenager might — distraught and scared about her future.
LYFE Receives Award from the Center for Children’s Initiatives
10/19/2015 | ABC7
LYFE received the Organizational Leadership Award at the 2015 Center for Children’s Initiatives’ Champions for Children’s Award Luncheon.
Teen Mom Benefits from LYFE program
6/10/2015 | News12 Bronx
A young Bronx mother who is graduating early from high school is giving credit to the Department of Education.
More News
A Teenage Mother Breaks the Boundaries
6/26/2015 | The Wall Street Journal
Isis Patterson, a teenage mother who was once homeless, graduated from high school with honors.
Morris Heights Teen Mom Graduates with Honors
6/26/2015 | News12 Bronx
A 16-year-old teen mom from Morris Heights graduated from high school one year early and with honors.
NYC Teen Mom Defies the Odds and Graduates Early with Honors
6/24/2015 | Urban Education | June/July 2015
Janira Moore refused to let teen pregnancy statistics dictate her future. After becoming a mother at age 15, the ambitious scholar worked hard and graduated early and with honors from University Heights Secondary School in New York City.
LYFE Teacher Margaret Diercks-Henfling Wins Big Apple Award
6/15/2015 | NYC Department of Education
Margaret Diercks-Henfling, an early childhood education teacher at the LYFE Program on Beach Channel Educational Campus, Queens has been named a winner of the NYC Department of Education Big Apple Award. Considered a leader throughout the LYFE program, her work goes beyond the classroom: she has mentored students, collaborated with community partners to provide nursing services, and helped start a cheerleading team at her high school.