Here are 5 things to know about sex ed curriculum at Sheboygan schools
SHEBOYGAN – Sheboygan Area School District Board of Education approved changes to the middle school human growth and development curriculum last fall.
Here are five ways those changes fit into what students are learning in the classroom.
1. Elementary level education includes puberty, hygiene and reproductive systems.
Fourth- and fifth-graders learn about puberty, menstruation and fertilization in a brief unit.
Girls and boys at both grade levels separately watch a short “Always Changing and Growing Up” video from Pineland Learning Center. The videos focus on puberty, changes to expect in the body, hygiene and self-care.
Students also separately watch a co-ed video in fifth grade that discusses reproductive systems and pregnancy.
2. Middle school level education includes gender identity, pregnancy and STDs.
Students at Farnsworth, Horace Mann and Urban middle schools receive HGD instruction in a seven- to 10-day unit part of a health course.
Topics cover adolescent and body changes, gender identity, relationships and social media and technology use.
Sexual intercourse and pregnancy, contraception methods like abstinence and condoms, STDs and related prevention and relationship violence and abuse are also covered.
Prentice-Hall’s "Human Sexuality Book" is the primary textbook. Accompanying videos used in the unit are from a variety of sources.
Recent additions to the eighth-grade curriculum expanded STD information to include HPV and Hepatitis B vaccines and added terminology related to gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation.
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3. High school level education includes birth, consent, sexual abuse and social media.
HGD instruction at North High and South High schools is similar to middle school curriculum but expands on several topics. These include birth, legal issues to sexual health and consent, relationships and dating, sexting and social media, and sexual harassment and abuse.
The high school health textbook is “Lifetime Health” by Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Students must complete a one-half health credit to graduate.
Other high school courses may touch on related topics as well.
For example, students taking a sociology course may learn about socialization and gender roles. Those taking a social issues course may learn about sexism and feminism and the harm of social issues related to sexuality (rape, sexual violence, sex in the media, unwanted pregnancy) and ways to avoid them.
4. SASD charter schools can choose their own curriculum.
Charter schools in SASD have flexibility to choose their own HGD curriculum.
These schools include Lake Country Academy, Sheboygan Leadership Academy, Etude Group schools, George D. Warriner Middle & High schools, and Central High School.
5. Students can opt out of HGD instruction.
Parents or guardians can opt out their students from instruction on human growth and development topics at any grade level.
Students not participating can still receive opportunities to learn about non-HGD health/life skills that are also discussed in the unit.
Parents or guardians can also preview and discuss material with their student’s teacher ahead of instruction time. Those with elementary school students also receive links to the video used in the unit in a letter ahead of time.
Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @alexx_garner.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan schools sex ed curriculum: Here's what's being taught
