About three dozen parents—evenly balanced between fathers and mothers—gathered in the Bromfield School library last Thursday, Feb. 8, to hear about the sex education component of the middle school health program. The program for sixth- to eighth-graders is scheduled to begin after February break. Teacher Barbara Kelley, who is the Health and Wellness Department leader, told the parents that the school district has been using the sex ed program Get Real, developed by the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, for about five years.
In a 2014 study of 24 Boston-area middle schools, the Wellesley Centers for Women found that in schools with the Get Real program, 16 percent of boys and 15 percent of girls delayed becoming sexually active, compared to schools that did not use the program.
Middle school health and phys ed teacher Amanda Failla said, “The program supports parents as the primary sexuality educators.” She also explained that state law gives parents the right to opt out for their children—either from the program as a whole or from specific lessons. She and other educators encouraged parents to talk with Failla individually if they have concerns about particular lessons or aspects of the program.
As part of the schools’ health and wellness program, Failla said, the Get Real program discusses abstinence (from all risky behaviors, not just sex); postponement of sexual activity; the risks of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV; and methods of protection against disease and pregnancy.
A majority of the parents seemed to have come mainly to hear information about the program, but several described their concerns. One father said he was nervous that the class would bring up “topics that shouldn’t be introduced in school,” but he expressed confidence in the teacher. Another asked if this course would help counterbalance misleading ideas about sex that some young people get from online pornography, as recently reported in the New York Times. A woman questioned whether the course covered options in case of an unwanted pregnancy, to which the teachers responded that it did not; the course focused on prevention.
Several parents and teachers referred to the results of the Youth Risk Survey, which were presented at a sparsely attended meeting last month, saying the survey showed the need for a program like this one. Parents unfamiliar with the survey learned that the results are available on the Bromfield School website.
In conversation after the program, a teacher mentioned that her class was taken aback by at least one fact of life. They were shocked to discover that babies are … expensive!
