Teen Dads Write Song Celebrating Fatherhood, Shoot Hoops, and Learn New Skills, too
Male students of the District's ELECT Program gather on the Sixers's court during the first annual ELECT Fatherhood Conference.
Music blasted from speakers in the Wells Fargo Center as about 35 young men shot baskets on the Sixers’ court. People in the stadium cheered and cameras flashed. But this was not a Philadelphia 76ers basketball game—this was the ELECT Fatherhood Conference.
On Wednesday, March 29, teen fathers gathered at the Wells Fargo Center for the ELECT Program’s first annual conference focused on teenaged dads. ELECT, which stands for Education Leading to Employment and Career Training, is part of the District’s Office of Family and Community Engagement. The program provides trainings, services, and resources to pregnant and parenting teens with the ultimate goal being to ensure that pregnant and parenting teens stay in school and graduate high school.
While the ELECT Program in Philadelphia has grown exponentially in the past few years, most of the program’s participants are teen mothers.
“At times, ELECT can appear to be biased in the aspect of catering to our teen mothers, whether it's childcare, baby items, breastfeeding workshops, etcetera,” said Nikishia Morgan, Director of ELECT. “We have over 500 young mothers in the program and a little over 80 fathers, and that ratio has made me wonder, ‘why aren't there more teen fathers enrolling in the program?’”
The ELECT Fatherhood Conference aimed to change this narrative and give fathers special attention and support. “What I found in talking with some of our current teen fathers is that they aren't always willing to join the program because they are unsure of where they fit into the program,” Ms. Morgan explained.
Nikishia Morgan, Director of ELECT, addresses the conference attendees.
By having a conference exclusively for teen fathers, Ms. Morgan and her staff hope to both elevate the role of the father in parenting and encourage more young fathers to participate in the ELECT program.
“The purpose of the event was to bring more awareness of services offered to teen fathers in the ELECT program,” Ms. Morgan said. “We wanted to create an engaging environment for young fathers to interact with their peers not only from their prospective schools, but across the entire program.”
ELECT’s Teen Advisory Board helped plan the event, which included a keynote speaker, panel, and workshops.
Calvin Purnell, Jr., author of Polished: A Young Professional’s Guide for Success, delivered the keynote address. Mr. Purnell’s book provides tips for young people who are beginning their career search, and he also emphasizes the importance of mentorship.
Ms. Morgan wanted to highlight male leadership at the conference and encourage the teen fathers to find mentors in people like Mr. Purnell.
“Promoting leadership and providing [teen fathers] with the skill sets to communicate their needs gives them a sense of empowerment,” Ms. Morgan stated. The focus on engaging in education and career planning also promotes “the ability to develop better, healthy relationships,” she said.
Panelists speak about their experiences with fatherhood.
During the panel discussion on the role of teen fathers, all women were asked to leave the Sixers’ stadium so that the panelists and teen dads could feel free to share their insecurities, experiences, and aspirations in an all-male space.
Panelists included representatives from the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Black Male Engagement and PowerCorps, as well as Mr. Purnell and Brent Johnstone, a motivational speaker. Drew Smith, a former ELECT student and founder of The DreamR Enterprise, moderated the panel.
Giving the teen fathers a chance to speak with one another and with accomplished panelists was constructive as well as intentional.
“They feel overpowered in workshops and won't attend if it’s too many young ladies in the room,” Ms. Morgan said. “Having this conference was a way to give our young fathers their own platform, attend workshops just with male students and male presenters.”
After the panel discussion, teen fathers were invited onto the court to participate in a three-point shoot-out game. Led by a Sixers staffer, the students took turns shooting hoops and cheering each other on—and laughing when someone threw an air ball.
Before breaking out into workshop sessions, two of the students presented a rap song about what fatherhood means to them. The students, Jossty Torres and Jose Otero, wrote and performed the song, and Jayden Robert acted as the DJ.
Students perform the song they wrote about fatherhood and the ELECT program.
Students then attended workshops in the stadium’s Club Boxes. Workshops included “Male Messages,” Rape Violence Prevention, How to Tie a Tie, and Teen Dating Violence. All workshops were led by male ELECT Coordinators.
All students also attended a session on child support and co-parenting, facilitated by Community Legal Services and Philadelphia Legal Assistance. This workshop was especially important to Ms. Morgan.
“Our young fathers often feel powerless when they become teen fathers, as if they don't have a voice when making decisions for their children,” she said. “Therefore, it was important for them to learn the laws and skills to remain active in the lives of their children.”
“We wanted to set a different tone of child support and co-parenting,” Ms. Morgan continued to explain. She hoped the workshop would help the teen fathers see child support as “not being such a ‘bad’ thing.”
Lastly, all students attended a workshop on the fundamentals of budgeting, led by Citizens Bank. The students were then able to watch the 76ers warm up for and play their game against the Atlanta Hawks (which the Sixers won!).
“My focus and goal of the conference was to bring about awareness of the program and provide information on the many different community-based supports available to young fathers,” Ms. Morgan said, with the hope being that the 35 teen fathers who attended will begin to spread the word in their own schools communities.
Ms. Morgan hopes the Fatherhood Conference helped male ELECT students understand that they “have not been ‘written off’ as teen fathers,” and that, to the contrary, their involvement in the lives of their children is crucial.
