After the birth of her first grandchild, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is out to set the record straight about her daughter and future son-in-law.

“You need to know that both Levi and Bristol are working their butts off to parent and going to school and working at the same time,” Palin told PEOPLE in a phone message Wednesday. “They are certainly not high school dropouts.”

The former vice presidential candidate said she wanted to be clear about their continuing work toward high school degrees because any suggestion otherwise “harms Bristol’s reputation and Levi’s reputation and their chances for good work opportunities.”

Bristol intends on getting her diploma through correspondence courses, while Levi left traiditional schooling to be trained as an electrician. The governor added  that she hoped Levi would eventually earn a GED, adding, “I respect that Levi is out there working hard.”

[image: WENN]