The New York City school system's Family Life Education program.
The issue of adolescent pregnancy is one which physicians, social workers, ministers, politicians, parents and other concerned citizens now recognize as being of paramount importance. The New York City Board of Education, in accepting its responsibility for helping young people to live healthy and fulfilling lives, has approved an innovative curriculum, "Family Living Including Sex Education". The curriculum is designed to help youngsters through the anxieties they feel and to help them develop positive attitudes toward their own bodies. The program was designed to supplement whatever information was being supplied in the home, and to be taught from kindergarten through high school. During the 1984-85 school year six highly qualified coordinators were hired, 30-hour staff training programs for approximately 1,100 teachers and supervisors were conducted, the program was implemented in nine community school districts and 75 high schools. Advisory Councils were formed and parent programs were established for 2,000 parents. A twenty-minute slide presentation and videotape which provide a comprehensive overview of the curriculum are available for use in schools and districts, upon request from the Health and Physical Education Unit.