Each woman takes several buses with her baby carriage and backpack before arriving at Hilltop, a public high school nestled in the Mission District of San Francisco. Inside the school, strollers line up in front of lockers and pregnant teenagers discussing mothering and boyfriends pass in the halls like a natural occurrence.

Each young woman at the school has had an incredible and complicated life. No stereotype about teen pregnancy survives here. Almost every young mother I have interviewed says that her baby saved her life. For the most part, the women support each other, participating in grief group meetings and listening to each other’s daily challenges.

Hilltop’s approach is multi faceted, from general high school curriculum to prenatal and parenting classes, onsite counseling, a nurse’s office and a nursery. Graduating and going to college is heavily emphasized, and many of the young women make it, and walk across the stage with their children in their arms as they receive their diploma. Graduates are able to continue bringing their children to the Hilltop nursery after graduation, and alumni maintain long-term relationships with the faculty, staff, and former fellow students.

I am awed by the school and the faculty’s commitment to the survival and success of each mother and her child. I am inspired by the young women, moved by their stories, their honesty, and determination. Each student’s experience at Hilltop is transformative, from the first day and shock of being pregnant and at a new school, through pregnancy and the choice to be a mother and a high school student.