Community colleges are known to some as the red-headed step-child of higher education. NBC is even playing the association to its advantage with its new series coming this fall, Community. But the fact is that community colleges have played a critical role in the U.S., serving 11.5 million students and almost half of all undergrads across the country.

Although community colleges are seeing an increase in student enrollment, that doesn't necessarily mean there's an increase in the graduation rate. As David Brooks notes in his recent op-ed, No Size Fits All, about half of community college students fail to earn a degree. Recognizing the important role that student services play in students' success, last week President Obama announced the American Graduation Initiative, which gives schools the funding they need to offer their students "wrap-around services."

My cousin became a single mom last year. I don't know the other 1,714,642...

Families are diverse. I get that. I experience this diversity among my friends, neighbors, colleagues and family members. Any one of us can look within our own circle of humanity and see families of all shapes and sizes--one parent, two parent, married, unmarried--who are wonderfully dedicated to their children (or not), and who are thriving (or struggling) at a particular point in time. And whenever the media or the wonks wring their hands over the declining numbers of married parent families, I hear about someone's sister who became president of a bank while raising her son on her own (and doing just fine thank you very much), or the friend who got tired of waiting for Mr. Right and conceived through sperm donation, or the neighbor couple who aren't really sure enough to tie the knot but are very good parents to their baby girl.

These personal stories are offered as a counterpoint to national statistics that warn of increased risks to child well-being as married parent families become a thing of the past. But one does not negate the other--both the personal stories and the national statistics are likely true.

We will always find among us parents with enough resilience to overcome adversity, but the national data tell us that, on average, raising children outside of a stable two parent family increases the adversity that parents will need to overcome. I believe in embracing all children and their families, but we also need to acknowledge that some paths into parenthood are more perilous than others--for both parents and their children.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy issued the following in response to the announcement that Bristol Palin, the 17-year-old daughter of Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is pregnant:

• The teen pregnancy and birth rate have declined dramatically since the early 1990s (down 38% and 32% respectively) driven by decreases in sexual activity and increases in contraceptive use.
• Even so, recent data show that the declines in teen sex and improvements in contraceptive use have leveled off and that the teen birth rate is on the rise for the first time in 15 years.
• At present, 3 in 10 girls in the United States become pregnant by age 20.
• At present, half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned and about 8 in 10 pregnancies to teens are unplanned.
• The teen pregnancy and birth rate in Alaska is below the national average and, since the early 1990s, has declined more steeply than the national average.