Sexual Health

• According to the CDC, youth ages 15-24 account for half of the 20 million new sexually transmitted infections that occur in the United States each year
• 1 in 12 DC middle school boys reports having sex by age 11 (YRBS, 2019)
• 16% of DC youth (aged 13-24) were living with chlamydia or gonorrhea in 2017.
• In 2018, 62% of all reported cases of chlamydial infections were among persons aged 15-24 years old.

Our Approach

Our comprehensive school-based sexual health curriculum is implemented in 10 one-hour sessions during 6th-grade PE classes. It covers topics related to safe sex and risk avoidance, including medically accurate age-appropriate information about sexual health. Our curriculum also covers life skills and social skills that are related to sexual health. The following major themes are covered in the curriculum:

• Puberty
• HIV/STI transmission, prevention, and treatment
• Pregnancy prevention
• Risk avoidance (methods of prevention and life skills for avoiding risks)
• Navigating pressures to have sex
• Communication skills around sex
• Consent & healthy relationships
• Autonomy and independent decision-making
• Resilience and overcoming adversity
• Available youth-friendly clinical and social services that support adolescent sexual health in our students’ neighborhoods

The goal for our 6th graders is that they leave this program better equipped to make healthy choices when it comes to their sexual health and feel confident about where they can access accurate information as they progress through adolescence.

Our Impact

In 2019, TGP further analyzed student pre-post program surveys revealing that participation in TGP’s sexual health programs increased students’ overall:

1. Sexual health knowledge
2. Positive feeling about relationships
3. Feelings around sexual health
4. Communication around sexual health

“I liked the games we played and how they turned awkward topics into fun games.”

-6th-grade student, E.L. Haynes Public Charter School