Kayla Lewis, a pregnant student at East High School in Denver, asked the school board to allow mothers at least four weeks of maternity leave. She said at a recent public hearing that women should be allowed more time for their bodies to heal and to bond with their newborns.

Two school counselors also approached the school board last month to protest the school’s lack of a district-wide policy. Counselor Nicole Head said East High School starts counting the women absent the day after they’ve been discharged from the hospital: “My initial reaction is if we are punishing girls like that, that is unacceptable.”

Denver has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in Colorado. According to state health statistics, 54.5 of every 1,000 girls ages 15 to 17 in Denver will become pregnant. Maureen Yockey, executive director of Alternatives Pregnancy Center in Denver, told WoW girls need one-on-one attention to help them stay in school.

Yockey tells the story of Chenelle, a “high school super star” who had an unplanned pregnancy but largely because of Alternatives’ support, finished high school at the top of her class. Chenelle, whose testimony is now recorded on Alternatives’ Web site, kept her baby and now attends college on a track scholarship. “(We) gave her the confidence that she could do it,” Yockey said. “For those who aren’t as motivated as she is, we would stay in touch with them, walk hand-in-hand with them.”

Yockey agreed that the school board should develop a district-wide policy, but she believes it needs to be personalized. Kristin Hansen, vice president of communications at Care Net, a national organization that oversees pregnancy resource centers, said Care Net’s experience shows that moms can complete work from home or make up missed time after school instead of missing four weeks without any consequences.