Comprehensive, empowering, and meaningful puberty and sex education for Bay Area schools
Some schools are blessed with that rare teacher who enjoys teaching sex ed. That is fantastic, yet infrequent. Most teachers find the task scary and uncomfortable. They are experts in their subject area and not in puberty education or sex education. They don’t know the latest recommendations on LARCs, the status of over-the-counter pills in California or the risk of antibiotic resistant gonorrhea. They shouldn’t; it is not their area of expertise. It is my business to know these things, and more.
I work with schools to create great sex ed and puberty ed classes
I work with schools and their needs and values to create meaningful and appropriate sex ed and puberty ed classes. I conduct parent education events and support schools in communicating with parents about content.
What I bring to every school
-Empowering age-appropriate puberty education and human sexuality education for grades 4-12 tailored to your school’s needs
-Professional development for your teachers on discussing puberty and sexuality and responding to student questions and concerns
-Consultation with your school librarian on must-have puberty and human sexuality books
-Empowering parent education programs
-Sample parent communications for before and after classes
-One-on-one consultations with parents
-Consultations/ partnerships with school counselors
What do you want for your students?
Wouldn’t it be great if a committed, trained sexual health educator helped your students understand puberty and sexuality safely and accurately in a supportive environment? I offer that. I provide age-appropriate puberty education and sex education for grades 4-12. My curriculum is aligned with the California State Standards and is student-focused and flexible.
Yes, I offer remote classes
During lockdown down I adapted my curriculum to online learning. My remote slasses look a little different, but students still get the reassuring, accurate, and helpful information they need. (Picture is my garage "office" after a fun and busy week of teaching remotely)
Puberty Education: 4th to 6th Grades
A gentle introduction to puberty with a focus on the individual differences in physical development and feelings, with the goal of reducing anxiety and stress related to puberty.
Sex Education: 7th and 8th Grades
An introduction to reproduction, contraception and STD prevention as well as healthy relationships, consent and decision making.
Human Sexuality: High School
High school-level sexual health curriculum that aligns with the CA Healthy Youth Act 2016 (AB 329), with a focus on consent and healthy decision making.
Some notes on my approach... "Advising a friend"
I find discussing sexuality issues in terms of “advising a friend” to be an easy and less threatening way for students to learn and participate in class. The research is pretty clear that students who participate in peer education programs in the role of a student educator benefit greatly from that experience. I try to use this to my advantage by teaching students as if they were all peer educators. For one thing it separates their personal experiences from the subject we are discussing and it lets me talk about issues that may come their way in the future, even if they haven’t experienced them yet. Finally, feeling like you are the knowledgeable, capable helper can be very empowering.
Infusing Consent
I talk about sexual consent in every class every day. Even if I am not teaching a specific lesson on consent, I embed the values of consent, communication, and respect into every subject. Our young people are growing up in a world with misleading and often harmful messages about sexuality and gender that negatively impact their understanding of consent. I work to disrupt these messages and help students understand what consent looks, sounds, and feels like so that they can build satisfying and safe romantic relationships.
Anonymous Questions and Answers
Anonymous questions and answers are a valuable tool in my teaching. To start with, they quickly give insight into the knowledge level of the group. Secondly, answering the questions gives me an opportunity to review content and reinforce key concepts at the end of our time together. Finally, the questions often present a lovely opportunity to weave a discussion about values into our lessons. Because the questions emerged from the group I can frame the values I want to express in terms of the students' specific concerns.
Contact Kate
Contact me to to see a sample curriculum, or to discuss a program for your school.