February 25 2019 Board Meeting Part 4
[00:00:00] We really want to make note of and appreciate the voices of our students. And as always we learn the most from our children and in this process have heard from them and the approaches and what they've let us know. So thank you very much for helping us interpret that.
and then lastly just wanted to. Expressed tore our board and and to our community just the gratitude that we have for the parents families and the community and how it has helped in this process and strengthened it and we think Beyond sexuality education and health and wellness that we have gained things about processes in general from from this.
Any questions any ways we could help [00:01:00] you with knowing all you need to know to make this next decision is a lot of information that's going to be sent via email. What listserv do parents need to be on is that a school is served classroom to serve District listserv or some other list of they need to know about.
Well, it's a great question and we had the opportunity when with a with the lesson earlier this fall where one where we found out that we weren't doing the Lester one person thought it was one listserv or one person thought it was another so our fabulous Tech director Kurt Nelson. We immediately did some problem solving on that and worked with our.
It's-- that each building and worked with the classroom teachers in the counselors to just clarify exactly to make sure the right listserv is not necessarily has to be the listserv that you signed up for because we want need that to go to all the parents in that classroom and there are sometimes parents that might not have signed up for a building's [00:02:00] listserv.
So we have to create a list. By students enrolled in that class was just actually slightly different than a listserv where parents people sign up voluntarily because we need this to get to every parent.  Yeah, so for K5 it would go to that class the teachers in grades. 6-12 will send out the syllabus at the beginning of the semester and then the specific emails before the topics are taught.
To the class yet to the to all of those students enrolled.  Just the question. Do we want to as a board ask their questions and comments of dr. Swanson and dr. Spencer Imes now or do we want to take the remainder of public comment? Because then if you incorporate potentially question.
Find other way
[00:03:00] other way.  Okay, I your mic wasn't on. So the suggestion was that we just go ahead and move towards public comment. And that seems to be an agreement of the board so we will move back. We need the okay. We're going to move right back to the comment, and I'm going to go I'll call people off the list you're standing, but you go ahead and go for it.
Otherwise, I'll call you.  Oh and I
should reiterate that. We are that if you've spoken already, please do not speak again. We don't have. We usually only have 45 minutes for public comment. We're way over that. So if you spoken you've said your piece of things.  My name is Janet Bailey. I live it to o six five five South West 98th Avenue.
First of all, I want to thank you for allowing us to [00:04:00] speak about our concerns. Could you identify your City please? I live in Chihuahua Tintin. Thank you. So what I'm what I'm suggesting what we are advocating is I will hear about this opt out. We are advocating an opt-in parents are feeling that they are not well informed until after the fact that a lot of times things don't reach home from for the.
Kids bringing things home and opt-out forms are one of them. So an opt-in form would allow parents to thoroughly look at the curriculum and the child is student would not be in the classroom unless the parent Ops them into the classroom. So we say that parents should review and decide the sexual topics.
I'm all for love and. I'm all [00:05:00] for not abusing people, but when it comes to the sex topics in the in the CSE curriculum, that's where I put on the skids parents should be able to decide what is age-appropriate for their child passing out condoms to a seventh grade class is not age appropriate. And puberty blockers and puberty lessons to an eight-year-old is not age-appropriate.
We say that not only the advance notice is to hoop. We want it to know who it's going to and what form it will be.  given to the parent if it's through email or if it's a paper copy advance notice is. You've talked about that as well. You say that instructions and activities are based on [00:06:00] information and approved text.
I hear you talk about some of the text you showed it on your screen. That's just a very slight summary of what it is. I've watched the videos there. They go far deeper far deeper than what you're talking about. Parents should be able to read and decide if they approve the text. That's why we I'm I'm suggesting I'm really really pushing the opt-in instead of the opt out because I say comfortable and safe for who parents believe that your curriculum is teaching lessons and activities that are not safe and not age appropriate.
School districts have a have adopted gender inclusion forcing everyone else to change [00:07:00] their thoughts and their speech and their attitudes.  We don't want our kids to be taught that all forms of sexual behavior are normal and acceptable based on the whim of the moment.
Miss Bailey your three minutes is up and I would ask for some clarification. We do have some people in Tualatin our school district is your address within our School District No, thank you for speaking. Mr. Milner. So this is what I have.  Thank you.
My name is Wallace Milner. I live at 2 0 2 5 Titan Paris in West Linn.  In [00:08:00] 1919 in late September a school by the name of Union High School was founded you probably don't recognize the name, but a hundred years later, it's still around and I go to it. I'm a senior at West Linn High. Over that time over 10,000 students have passed through the doors 100 years 100 graduating class has 100 Years of students trained by 100 staffs of teachers sent out into the world to live the lives of a hundred different times 100 years and not one of those years has been offered proper sex sexual education.
100 classes and not one has been given proper preparation for the world. You asked why we should expand our health curriculum to include all orientations. I say because LGBT students suffer depression at far higher rates than straight ones and I say because Studies have shown that this education helps.
You [00:09:00] asked why we must address the concerns of transgender students. I say because Studies have shown these students have far lower life expectancies than cisgender students and I say because we've seen that expanded sexual education helps you ask why we must address and must address directly issues like consent I say because one in five women will be raped at some point in their lives.
And Studies have shown time and time again that ignoring the issues does not solve it.  There are many here today who say we must wait who say we have moved too fast to say we have addressed these issues too soon. Every year longer we wait is another year of students we fail another generation of students who will not be given the education.
They need a generation of students who will not have their education or their identities. I beg of you to implement this curriculum and implement it in its entirety and implement it now and I say to every person in this room who says [00:10:00] that we are rushing there are 100 Years of students who went through life without the proper education.
They needed who faced the consequences of a broken system A system that we can fix today. It is Our obligation to take care of this District. Ask the students and they will tell you ladies and gentlemen of the board. We are not rushing. We are 10,000 students and 100 years too late. Thank you
Matilda Milder.
Hi, I'm Matilda Milner. I left that to zero to five Titan Terrace and I'm a sophomore at with some high school. I'll be reading a poem on behalf of my peer and friend. She wrote this poem for our schools walk out a couple weeks ago.  If I had only known that when I said no someone would listen if I had only [00:11:00] known that my voice mattered if only this hadn't passed when I was younger.
If only I had known to get myself out of it earlier. Maybe then I wouldn't be so hurt now. Maybe then I wouldn't be walking around with all this damage. Maybe then I wouldn't be in so much pain at the age of 13. I said no, but he wouldn't listen I would dip my pants back up, but they would just get pulled down harder.
If only someone could have heard me when I said I didn't like being touched there or when I pushed away they could have stopped him from trying again. The only perception that I have of my body now is understanding that it's been used. I was taught to believe that my body is an object that I am nothing.
What if someone had seen when I slit was slammed against the lockers or told me I could leave that someone else would love me. I question every day what my value is to the. But knowing the value of consent is the most important thing the only hope I have now is to help others to teach them that their words have meaning [00:12:00] that their bodies have worth reassurance reassure them that someone will listen to their pain or better prevent it from happening to anyone else by teaching others to listen for consent to have respect for themselves and others because what if this changes something.
What if it saves someone like me just a scared kid longing for a place or a direction? What if when this new curriculum comes kids won't be bullied just for having a body booked in the girls bathroom because a lineup of boys have some opinion. They wanted to say to me shoved in the hallways told I was a plank a good-for-nothing piece of ass, that would never please a man.
The only hope I have is to the only hope I have is for a kid to know to understand the bodies are normal to know that when they say no, it means no and if someone doesn't listen they have the skills to leave. I find it funny how this is the first time I've uttered these words the first time I've let myself admit the pain I've been [00:13:00] through if I had known that this is that this was the culprit of my pain or that any part of this was abnormal.
Maybe I'd be happier. If anyone hears this all I hope if anyone hears this all I hope is that they never have to endure this much pain and confusion. I can't imagine how different my life would be if the education system have provided me with the knowledge. Maybe then I would be empowered enough to get myself out.
Maybe then I wouldn't be speaking in front of you now speaking about the pain that I hope no one after us ever has to experience.  Thank you. Thank you.
Julie Woodman.
Hi, I'm Julie Whitman. My address is 2 1 0 8 0 Southwest Windham Hill Court in [00:14:00] Tualatin or Oregon and I am in this District. I want to thank you for the time and effort you've put into this process each one of you at these table has put endless hours speaking to us communicating inside this type of forum and outside through emails and personal coffee dates.
So honestly, we thank you. We thank you for your time and your effort on this curriculum. This plan is multifaceted. There are aspects of this curriculum that I absolutely feel should be taught at every age and grade level and there are aspects of this curriculum that I absolutely think should not be taught at every age and grade level.
Tonight we have heard from a number of speakers about the diverse subject matter of the new curriculum. And as a parent who desires to be actively involved in the education of my children. I have to tell you that a lot of times it is [00:15:00] going to Absolute joy to be part of the community at Meridian Creek Middle School.
I have been so impressed by the many teachers who have posted their daily teaching plans and outlines so that I can actually have input and engaging conversations with a middle schooler. If you can even imagine this this transparent open communication by these teachers posting on the blog and in their emails has allowed us to have conversations around the dinner table from everything about what book she's reading and language arts.
To the Daily vitamin she's doing in geometry. Transparent open real-time Communications with parents is vital to the ability of us to engage and support our schools our teachers and our students topics are great for an opt-in or an opt out but we need more information currently. My [00:16:00] daughter isn't Health this semester and the information has been very limited even though I have asked through email.
I'm here to ask and to implore you to put a plan in place for over communication with parents when it comes to these topics starting now as the teaching is happening now. Create easy on ramps for all Health teachers to post to post their teaching outlines and lesson plans. This will create transparency email parents and create places for us to see and review what will be taught prior to class.
I'm happy to hear that. It's happening starting in the year 2019 to 2020 or next year, but my daughters in the class now and I just have the choice of opt-in or opt-out. I'd also like to request that the district West websites be up to date so that parents have real-time access to what is being taught each year, especially [00:17:00] since this will be an ongoing process that is not finished right now.
We need this corrupt you inside 300 green light. Here we go, but you can go if you had like a quick statement. I want you to be over Rebel. My last thing is just that we need this now because our kids are in this now and so while the future plans are great. I'm concerned because there's day she's in health.
Thank you.
Angie Gibson. It's
hard to hear over the Clapping. Did you say Angie? Yes. Thank you. Angie Gibson 3 2 0 9 6 Southwest Willamette Way East in Wilsonville. I've been in this district for 20 years. I have an alumni from Wilsonville High School who's 20 a senior in the high school and an eighth grader would middle. And I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for your service and for the opportunity to speak [00:18:00] today.
I went to the community meeting last month to understand the concerns that my fellow parents had because after I read the state standards that were sent to me, it seemed very straightforward. These standards seemed reasonable to me and relevant to all members of our learning community in our. So if we teach just exactly these standards then I believe we will have achieved your goal and ours of developing the best thinkers for this world.
But what but I went to the meetings because the district invited input and I was curious to know why people are concerned. What I learned from my table group at that very valuable meeting and for others there and that are also here tonight is that they just want to be informed about what our children are learning and they want to be given the opportunity to provide input on how curriculum is developed and it's this level of input and support that makes this community such an amazing place to raise our children.
And so I just am so proud of our school district and [00:19:00] everything that they've done to be so transparent in this year-long process and to be so proactive. It in seeking and integrating the parental input, especially with the changes you've made to the sexual comprehensive plan sexual education plan while the process that you have gone through has slowed down implementation of this mandated education.
It's allowed the curriculum to be developed in a manner that matches the principles of this community other concerns that I heard were that their children are too young but like doing algebra, you must first learn your numbers and then you can name them. And then I'm running out of time and then someday you can solve equations.
I believe these are complex issues and that they can't be learned from one lesson in 8th grade. But why do I think teaching these standards in a comprehensive way is so important to creating thoughtful people and it's because times are changing the world Mitchell our children live in has some things that are good such as greater gender acceptance and [00:20:00] genders and standards of behavior.
But some things for the worst such as pornography sexting and sexual exploitation of children depression and. I think that this education aims to arm our children the skills language and knowledge that they need in a modern society as it continues to change and I just. I'm very thankful for the process you've given us to that has given us the opportunity to learn and to participate I was surprised to learn from I-20 and 17 year olds at these types of things weren't previously being taught but I am happy that future Generations.
Will benefit from this and I would just encourage the for to Absolute and approve the curriculum and thank you for allowing us to participate and for all of the parents that participated.
Thank you.
[00:21:00] Good evening. My name is Katie ham. I live at two nine five five for Southwest Milano Lane. I'd like to express my wholehearted support for our district to adopt this comprehensive sexuality education plan our responsibility as parents as Educators. And as a community is to give our students age-appropriate fact-based holistic education.
My daughter's deserve to grow up in a community in which they and all of their peers feel safe and welcome for being who they are. They deserve to be empowered with facts that are age-appropriate and medically supported the curriculum is exactly that and I appreciate your thoughtful and sensitive consideration of this important topic and urge the board to adopt this game.
Thank you.
good posture.
Sean good pastor [00:22:00] 29,000 37 Southwest Willow Bois Drive, South Wilsonville, Oregon, I have two children in Wilsonville schools a first grader at Lowry a sixth grader at would I'm one of the least knowledgeable. Experts on the topics before the board you have experts here who have been working with you to develop curriculum that's been discussed with us in some detail and some intimacy at various school meetings at board meetings that you held specifically for this purpose.
You've taken testimony and public comment from people with medical backgrounds Public Health experience and education degrees. I can add nothing to that. The one thing I would like. To bring to your attention given the issue for your son things are well suited for democracy and for the crowd to give input where you locate the next school, [00:23:00] you build what whether you serve pizza or fish on a Friday whether you take a bus route using the interstate system or the surface streets.
The loudest voices should hold sway in those cases. Here you have introduced to us a topic of public concern and public education for the students that you have charge over. I have charge along with my wife of two.  The responsibilities that you have measure in the thousands the on any children or grandchildren that you have in the schools here you need to respect the women that these little girls will grow to become.
You need to respect the men that these little boys will grow to become in so doing I trust that the hours days weeks and months that you spent reviewing various curriculum options have yielded scientifically-based results that your [00:24:00] staff has vetted thoroughly. I have been impressed with the efforts that you have put into that.
I urge you to adopt them today. Thank you for your time again. Damaris onions.  Hi.
Again, my name is Damaris pianos.
And do you want my address again? When three 1:05, Wellington Court? I have several nieces nephews and cousins in the school district and. I'm just a concern over this curriculum. I'm an RN for eight plus years now and had been working on my masters and Family and Child Health took a little break to have my own family and I.
Came here tonight really just [00:25:00] sharing the opinion of the American College of Pediatrics which states that comprehensive sexuality education goes far beyond sex and and is dangerous assault on the health and innocence of children. A lot of my ingredients with this gadem with this college comes from my faith-based values that's part of diversity that we talked about that should be equally respected as all beliefs and represented but then the RN side of me and the one that's going for that Masters and so forth really respects research.
And seeing the effectiveness of programs like this and what fruits they yield so that side of me really took to looking at research and I want to read.  a little bit of research for you concerning these these. It's programs a scientific assessment of the [00:26:00] effectiveness of comprehensive sexuality education in American schools over the last 25 years was recently published.
The author's reviewed 60 rigorous studies of 40 School based based CSC programs studies that were pre reviewed peer-reviewed for selection based on Research quality by the Department of Health and Human Services, the United Nations educational scientific and cultural organization or the CD. The basically when reviewers applied stamp standards of review to these programs, they found far more evidence of CSC failure than success and I asked you to really think about that a study by the I'd already just the conclusion of the study by The Institute for research and evaluation.
Their conclusions was considering. Considering programs in u.s. School settings measured by meaningful standards of Effectiveness the claims that CSC has been proven effective. [00:27:00] We're not supported by this combined database containing some of the strongest and most recent outcome studies of the u.s.
Sex education. In fact, the research evidence indicates. The CFC has essentially been ineffective in the u.s. School classrooms and has produced a concerning number of negative effects. The evidence of abstinence education looks far more promising enough to justify prioritizing educational research.
So I ask you tonight to really think about the research findings that come up with that have been done over 25 years 40 rigorous programs and these comprehensive such sexuality education programs their effectiveness. I think we have a lot much more to lose than we have to gain from these programs and I really ask that you think about that.
My heart breaks for the stories that we've heard. So you finish your three minutes and I appreciate your time. Thank you. Can I conclude please my heart breaks for the students that [00:28:00] have shared such stories and I think we need to look at what we need to do to really Outreach to students to say.
Hey, someone does care for you. There is a future and a hope what you've gone through does not classify who you are. So, thank you. Li's I can't read your writing Liz.  Okay, Andy.  Okay, Ethan out of
room. Hi, my name is Ethan are DeBary. Yeah, okay, so I'm a little tall. So I live on 202 1/3 Hood View Avenue. I go to West on high school. I'm a junior right now and I would like to speak for specifically the LGBT community today and also the members [00:29:00] of the community that are disabled and autistic.
So I think that fundamentally a respectful learning environment is key and I don't really I don't believe that the feelings of parents who may disagree with the actions of other students should undermine their individual safety as when I was in when I was in eighth grade and this is the first time I'm publicly admitting this I was I was sexually assaulted by another boy and.
Later, I found I found inside myself that I was I was bisexual. But the feelings that that cause inside me I had no no way of knowing you know, what what the right response to that was and I thought that I was supposed to stay silent because it wasn't it wasn't a thing that I would I wanted to admit to anybody, but I realize now that if I had been educated personally.
And individual to [00:30:00] my life on that topic that I would have saved a lot a lot of pain that was caused specifically from that dilemma inside of me and. I believe specifically that there are many disabled people and transgender members of our community that are not looked upon in the best way and then are treated with such disrespect and that is such an injustice to how our community should work and how it does work as these people some of them cannot even speak for themselves, but they I see them abuse and I see them often sexually assaulted without any recourse or way, too.
Express that and if only there was education that help them and I strongly believe that these that this curriculum is necessary to make the lives of future students much easier and much more safe and caring and loving and I want to make sure that every [00:31:00] single person who went through what I went through.
Has a voice in the future and has someone that can help them navigate that and has the the knowledge to know how to handle it what to say and I strongly urge you to implement this curriculum. That's all. Thank you.
Actually did sign up first on eight o'clock Monica. How does my name it's okay. My address is 1 9 7 5 to Bennington Court West Linn, Oregon nine seven. 0 6 8 I have four children and the West Linn Wilsonville District 3 and Primary School one in middle school. I love the district. I absolutely love the community.
I was at the bond Summit on Saturday and I was so inspired by what dr. Kathy said about the infant holding him [00:32:00] up like symbol. I thought that was beautiful and I really appreciate that fighting the community and what's best I'm youngest of seven kids and. Just we have over 30 nieces and nephews. So we love children and we love elderly and that's how we were grown up.
I was bullied heavily until middle school not for the reasons that maybe were mentioned. I was bullied because I looked different. I was an immigrant. My mom would pay me a dollar to wear the pants that she had because she couldn't afford, you know jeans which was my dream but. You know my my siblings my older siblings and my husband was bullied not just by students, but they were bullied by their teachers back in the country back where I'm from.
They weren't just bullied by by students. And the teachers didn't just believe them but they also beat them and this is factual information. I know it probably sounds [00:33:00] shocking but my own husband was was beat and in the language polka a Thule was you filthy Christian and they were called all sorts of names.
So I have a background of that, you know, which is maybe different from what's been mentioned one of my mom's best friend who still lives in his. Dear friend of mine. Her mom was sentenced to jail for 25 years when she was eight months pregnant and she was born in a jail cell. They let her go to the hospital to be born and she she grew up till she was two and a jail cell simply because she held.
A prayer meeting and so these are deep into my soul by my husband's father was poisoned by the communist regime and those very same people came back to him and he fed them and clothed them. And so when I say that I love all people I mean that with my whole heart and soul and I can cry for hours when I say that my husband goes to all over the [00:34:00] world really to do humanitarian work, but he goes to Iraq.
He's been twice brought thousands of pounds of food there. Absolutely, love them. But we don't share the same values. I can't have anyone tell me or my children to worship Allah because we just don't share the same values yet. We love them wholeheartedly. And so what I want to bring home is the comprehensive sex education is against our value system and.
As a mom if this is going to be approved, I'll be forced to take out my children out of a school district that I love whole heartedly and I really I don't want to do that. But to go further if I was a teacher in the district and I asked the principal actually of this District. She said if this is approved, yes, the teachers will be obligated to teach this.
Curriculum, and so if I'm a Christian and I'm saying I love everyone for heartedly. I'll give my life for people but it just doesn't stand with the values that I stand for what would happen to that teacher? So then it would [00:35:00] become a liberal, you know religious liberal issue. That's all I want to say.
I just want to say every teenager that came up here so brave. I'm really really proud of them. And thank you so much for letting me speak today. Thank you. And I apologize for
missing. Oh, we need to take a quick break five minutes be right back and the board will take its.
To ask
questions first. I'm going to open it up for the board members to ask questions of the District staff at this time.  I had a question. Dr. Smith, I think it was you maybe [00:36:00] it was Barb but there when we are discussing about the notification and I believe it was middle school. But whenever when parents are leaving are receiving notification, it said that I think the work that language is was it would be given with regards to Sexual Health lessons and I was just curious or more and wanting to be very specific about which lessons which health lessons would qualify for that.
So actually there's a little table in there and we highlighted them. Okay, so that you can see you know, there's six at one grade level seven of the other nine and those would be the specific ones. And the reason for that language is we heard from our families that just giving me the topic isn't enough and we heard that again this evening.
So it's we want to give more specific information. So a parent can a. Have their own conversation, you know with us [00:37:00] with their child before and so they know exactly because there's no attempt here to withhold anything that that you plan to teach now and I did not believe there was any attempt to withhold.
I just want to make sure that parents when they heard that topic knew where they could look so that they could find the answers that question and know which topics they would receive notification on and would it be fair? It's the. Ones that are highlighted in yellow okra.  Thank you.  Related to that is the online information.
Will that be essentially a syllabus or how detailed would that be?
Well, thank you for that question. I think that's what's on many of our families minds and it will be a detailed outline of the lessons as Doctor soy sin was saying before without giving being able to post [00:38:00] because of copyright laws the entire materials but detailed lessons of the topic or outline of the topics.
You know, how course syllabus? To says this is what we're going to do this week. So that'll be at the semester. But then our intent is to work towards having lessons with worksheets with that posted online. We will not have that till you know, incomplete form until the beginning of the 1920 school year as we are still.
Adapting and working with that when you adopt a new curriculum, you don't necessarily post your lessons the first year you're doing it and we need to know first of all the status of our plan and in doing that as well.  All
right. I'm open for a motion.
[00:39:00] I move that we adopt the comprehensive human sexuality education plan as set forth this evening.
I'll second.
discussion.
First gratitude to the parents that Community who have spoken. I think that is a really distinguishing factor of this district is have engaged the community is and. I believe that the district's health and wellness guidelines are consistent with the 2016 OTE standards was relevant statutes with administrative rules.
They were developed by District Educators and administrators administrators who have [00:40:00] expertise and in the. I think the process as described by dr. Spencer. I'm dr. Tyson was very open and inclusive there were many opportunities for public content and I'm grateful to the way that it was modified based on that Community input.
So I also appreciate the opportunity to opt out and that the information is fully presented. In advance, I think there it will definitely be incumbent upon the district to communicate very well and very very carefully. I mean what I'm have confidence that that's going to occur and so I'll be voting in favor and thank you very much for the work that you've done.
I too would like to thank our superintendent and staff for their work. This has [00:41:00] been a lengthy process. We did not rush into this and I'm grateful. I am grateful for the time you took to slow the process down when you heard that there was a new interest and more parents and community members who wanted to give feedback.
I know you spent hours. I'm working on developing this curriculum as well as providing your time to meet one-on-one or with groups of parents and community members. I also know you've taken great effort to once you get that feedback to then adjust and modify the direction of the curriculum over the course of this project.
I'd also like to thank our parents and our students. You've reached out to our staff whether it be in person in email by attending our one of our five Community meetings, whether showing up in voicing your opinion and sharing your thoughts at school board meetings. [00:42:00] What I found most remarkable about this process.
Was that everyone I encountered regardless of their view view on any one piece of the proposed curriculum always place the well-being of our students first. Numerous times it was stressed to me with all sincerity that we want all of our students to feel loved. We want our children to feel safe and we want our students to feel welcome and I believe that regardless of your perspective.
I I genuinely Fleet believe we are a community and one of our best assets is the knowledge that collectively we need to put our children first. We may not always agree on how to go about doing that. But that definitely is a priority and that's something that makes us very special. I would also like to comment that our community or like to thank our community for its ability to civilly and respectfully engaged in a prolonged conversation [00:43:00] on.
Sensitive and sometimes politically charged issues around human sexuality not all communities are capable of doing that in a respectful and meaningful way. And again everyone here needs to commend themselves for the way in which they conducted themselves and having these conversations.
In working towards approving a health and wellness curriculum. I took it upon myself to do my best job to educate myself any parent who sent me a letter. I read it thoroughly. If you sent me a link to an article, I read the article if you sent me a link to a video I watched the video I sat down and met with anybody who wanted to meet with me directly.
I answered phone calls from anybody who wanted to talk more about this. I. I did my best to educate myself as we as a school board moved towards approving this curriculum our community throughout this process has. [00:44:00] Stressed a desire for a science-based approach to teaching on all the health and wellness standards and we did here tonight from the district that they will provide a straightforward science based reading science based reading and writing assignments based on texts the information which.
Will be shared with our students over the course of the teaching of this curriculum will not include values or beliefs or exist or illicit values and beliefs. I believe the district has addressed common concerns amongst our patient our patrons in this Regard in the proposed curriculum. Our community is asked the health and wellness topics be provided to parents sufficiently in advance of lessons being taught.
You've heard tonight from the district that it will do that both at the beginning of courses being in the school year or beginning of the semester in the middle [00:45:00] school as well as at least one week in advance of subject the teaching of specific subjects. I believe our parents concerns with regards to advance notice have been addressed by this proposed.
Our communities asked for age-appropriate curriculum.  I do feel that we as a school board as somewhat maybe even as a district actually are somewhat Bound by what is age-appropriate. Our state of Oregon has already determined. What is age-appropriate at the end of each grade level that is not discretionary for us.
What is discretionary is how we choose to communicate and teach that curriculum. If you have an issue with it, being age-appropriate the standards this board is not the body to address that you need to go to your state your state representatives and your state legislators. They're the ones who can change the law around [00:46:00] that this board has examined the curriculum that's being proposed and.
I have looked through it. I read each and every single I've page I haven't read them. I looked through each and every single page of those textbooks. I did read sections that called to my attention issues that were most predominantly raised by our community. I will say that in this entire health and wellness curriculum.
There's about this match a hundred percent of the Christian curriculum. You're talking about 5% maybe 3% of the curriculum. This is actually Up For Debate. Amongst our community and I do believe that after reviewing it that it is age-appropriate and we have heard here from our district Representatives that has been vetted by teachers counselors and District administrators.
I believe that addresses some of the concerns of our community. Our community has [00:47:00] also asked that the health and wellness curriculum be standardized and be the same across all grade levels. And our district has represented this evening that all teachers at grade levels across the district will teach the same sexuality education using the same materials and that they would do so with how personal opinions or bias and I believe that that matches a response directly to input and feedback their Community a.
Our community wants to ensure the health and wellness learning environment is safe and comfortable for our Learners and our district showed tonight that all activities and lessons will be prioritized will prioritize students feeling safe and comfortable with the learning. I feel that this curriculum the unprotect will be crafted carefully thoughtfully intelligently and that it has taken into account and addresses the Myriad of feedback received from our community [00:48:00] one other thing in particular I did and part of preparing and educating myself around this curriculum is I had the opportunity to speak with.
A diverse group of students from two of our high schools. And the what I gained from that experience, I will tell you probably forms my opinion a hundred percent on the approval of this curriculum. It was really really hard to disregard the students voice and their asks and it touched me deeply but it also.
It was hard, you know some of it was trauma-informed and there's that question of if I had only learned if I had only known maybe I wouldn't have been harmed maybe I wouldn't have been victimized and that is it that is really hard like first of all their youths and I don't care what happened to them.
It was never their [00:49:00] fault, but that ideology that somehow maybe our education could help them address. Myriad of things that they think are in their life, so I just want to share some of the feedback from our students because I think it's important that everybody in this room has the opportunity to hear some of it and I did notice it didn't matter which high school I went to even the students responses were the same.
Students collectively shared the desire for more information around sexual education STIs and pregnancy prevention at a younger age. They suggested moving learning around the drug and alcohol education to later years in high school and sex education earlier. They felt learning about sex in high school was too late as many of their peers are already engaging in sexual activity.
Students shared they currently received meaningful information on these topics during their junior year Healthy Living class. Whereas the wellness one and two courses taken during the freshman and sophomore years [00:50:00] emphasize Anatomy. They would like the junior year Healthy Living curriculum delivered in their freshman year.
They also have I advise that receiving abstinence instruction in high school is not particularly helpful for the students who have already chosen to forgo absent. Students shared that their engagement in their Wellness lessons was better when there was more discussion opportunities around the subject matter classes with instruction that was delivered using worksheets and definitions was not as compelling students share.