Lumen High School: School helps Kaylee Spaulding grow as a student and parent

Before her first day at Lumen High School, Kaylee Spaulding was reluctant to attend. She remembers being upset when her mother told her about the school, which serves teen parents, because she was active in her previous school and had made friends she didn’t want to leave.

But after her first day, Spaulding’s feelings changed.

“My first day was actually amazing,” she said. “Everybody came up to me, they gave me hugs and were saying, ‘Hi.’ Everyone was really friendly, and then it just kept getting better. I definitely regret how I felt the first day. This is by far the most amazing school I’ve ever been to, and I think anyone will ever go to.”

The school offers students a full education while also providing for them as parents, including childcare and other resources such as clothing, diapers and access to programs like the Women Infants and Children Nutrition Program.

Spaulding and counselor Katy Vancil know not everyone has a support system in their family, so they see the Lumen community as a chosen family.

With the help of this chosen family, Spaulding has been able to pursue interests like art and being outside. Last year, for example, she created one of her favorite pieces of work, a tree growing against a pink and purple background, that represented starting over. And last month, she spent the day with classmates doing research at Turnbull Wildlife Refuge, where they saw a moose and her baby.

All while her son was being cared for and making friends of his own.

Outside of school, Spaulding has been able to get work experience as well. What was meant to be an internship at People’s Waffle turned into a job on the first day. She’s also picked up work at the Grain Shed. At both businesses, she does a mixture of prep work, washing dishes, cleaning tables and welcoming guests.

After graduation, Spaulding is considering becoming a dog handler in the military, which she’s been interested in since she was young, or pursuing a different path: a career in criminal investigation.

“I find that really interesting, learning the inside of people’s brains and why they do things,” she said.

Vancil said Spaulding is a fixture at the school and will be missed when she does pursue her post-high school plans. She’s the first to offer help to students and staff and interacts with everyone in a kind, empathetic, mature way.

“We won’t have a go-getter who’s going to be the person who’s going to say, ‘OK guys, let’s do this. This is fun.’ Our cheerleader,” Vancil said. “We need that person at our school, and that’s who she is. We’re going to really miss that when she’s gone.”

The feeling is mutual, but Spaulding knows her time at Lumen has prepared her for wherever her post-high school life takes her, something the school hopes all students feel by the time they graduate.

“They’re constantly trying to make you grow and do better,” Spaulding said. “I feel better as a person being here, stronger and more capable, being a parent and carrying my life out after high school.”