“My life’s not over just because I’m having a baby,” said freshman Edrika Chestnut, an at-risk student at the Temple school district’s Wheatley Alternative Education Center.

Teen pregnancy joins poverty, abuse and behavior in a list of topics tackled by “Real Talk: Women Empowerment” - a program that Miss Chestnut said teaches real-life coping skills.

“The people who are talking to us have been there and done that. It’s not like they don’t understand where we’re coming from,” Miss Chestnut said. “Yeah, there’s days we don’t want to hear what they’re saying, but they’re helping you even though you might be thinking they’re not.”

The bulk of the program is group discussion. Its leaders are two TISD teachers and a case manager from Aware Central Texas, the Belton-based organization that fights child abuse via awareness and prevention.

“We try to show the girls that everything can be turned into a success,” said Zeta Jones-Collins of ACT. “We talk about real-life situations and how to overcome stress and struggle. No matter what happens, you can still move on and try for better.”

The program is about three years old. It started with visits from guest speakers who talked about their careers, mistakes and lessons learned.

Then the program’s curricula evolved to include etiquette, decision-making skills and job hunting tips.

“This was the first year to meet on a regular weekly schedule,” said teacher Sharon Holleman, TISD At-Risk facilitator. “And it was the first for ACT to be involved.”

With the increased meeting time, Ms. Holleman said she’s noticed more girls taking on the role of mentor.

“The older ones are starting to give advice to the younger ones,” Ms. Holleman said.

Junior Otesha Taplin said she sees herself doing that.

“I go to elementary school and talk to the younger kids,” Miss Taplin said. “I help to calm them down and try to help them not make the same bad choices I did. It feels good to have somebody talking to you when you’re in trouble, somebody who’s not talking down to you.”

Miss Chestnut nodded.

“I didn’t have nobody to talk to me like that,” Miss Chestnut said.

The Real Talk group ended this term last week with a four-hour program titled “The Decisions We Make Now Will Affect Our Future.”

“It was a review of everything we covered over the year,” Ms. Jones-Collins said.

When asked if “Real Talk” was worth their time and effort, most of the girls said yes. Their teachers were across the room, unable to hear the conversation.

“The way you live makes a ghetto the ghetto, all horrible and stuff,” said freshman Jaileen Zayas, talking about the things she’s learned. “You can change it by the way you want your life to be.”

Miss Taplin said “Real Talk” reinforced the value of family.

“We talked about how now not to give up on your child,” Miss Taplin said. “That can stop a lot by itself.”

As for Miss Chestnut, she’s determined to be the best mom she can be. Her confidence, she said, is a result of all the counseling and exchange of ideas that “Real Talk” offers.

“They, the teachers, help us communicate better in life,” Miss Chestnut said. “Doing that right can help us keep on going.”