Raising the Bar: Impacts and Implementation of the New Heights Program for Expectant and Parenting Teens in Washington, dc

Considerations for expansion and replication 
In 2013, OAH awarded funds to a second cohort of PAF grantees to support expectant and 
parenting teens, and most of the grantees are engaging youth in high schools and implementing 
components of the New Heights model (Person et al. 2016). Among the 24 programs run by the 
17 grantees, nearly all (20 programs) operate at least some components in high schools.
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The 
most frequently implemented PAF program components are similar to New Heights: case 
management, referrals, group workshops, material resources, transportation, counseling, and 
flexible scheduling. 
The prevalence of New Heights-like approaches across other programs around the country 
raises questions about the feasibility of expanding or replicating New Heights and achieving 
similar impacts. As we discovered, New Heights is a multifaceted 
approach
comprising a small 
number of 
core components 
to be implemented by experienced, professional, dedicated 
individuals
identified through a comprehensive hiring process and given a strong system of 
support.
New Heights has outlined what the program looks for in a coordinator and how to 
ensure a good fit for each school, what coordinators do, and how to support them. New Heights 
has not scripted how coordinators should conduct their role on a daily basis. Successful 
expansion or replication might hinge on great hires—identifying the best coordinators for each 
particular school and then providing them with the support and resources that enabled the New 
Heights coordinators to do what it takes. 
Ultimately, this study cannot fully address questions of replicability, just as it cannot 
identify whether New Heights was effective because of its approach, its staff, the schools, 
community resources, or an intricate interaction among all variables. Yet, this study does add the 
first piece of evidence from the PAF program on how comprehensive, multifaceted programs can 
improve academic outcomes for teen parents. Recent findings from other programs for parenting 
teens complement these results, showing that targeted interventions can reduce sexual risk 
behaviors and delay subsequent pregnancies. (Rotz et al. 2016; Covington et al. 2017, 2016). The 
knowledge gap on how to improve an array of outcomes for the highly vulnerable population of 
parenting teens is slowly being filled. 
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Programs can operate in more than one setting. 
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RAISING THE BAR: IMPACTS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW HEIGHTS PROGRAM