Schools respond to concerns about conference

The article published last Wednesday in The Nugget, "Parents Concerned about Conference," created some questions and concerns that have prompted parents and community members to connect with administrators and teachers within the Sisters School District.

Our team of educators and administrators are grateful whenever we have direct conversations with students, parents and community members to prevent speculation and misinformation. The specific conversations that occurred as a result of the KOIN 6 News stories and last week's Nugget article regarding the Oregon Adolescent Sexuality Conference (ASC) inspired us to a draft a response for the entire community.

Five years ago, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) posted the new State Standards for Health (which are viewable at: http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?=3813).

To help districts be in compliance with these standards through professional development and curriculum adoption, the ODE encouraged schools to apply for the WISE (Working to Institutionalize Sexuality Education) grant.

Sisters School District applied for and received the $10,000 grant four years ago, with the understanding that our health educators, Heather Johnson of SHS and Julie Patton of SMS, would be required to attend various health standard trainings and attend the ASC for three consecutive years.

Student involvement in the conference was encouraged by the grantors, but not required, and our teachers chose not to bring students.

Our health educators frequently attend conferences to expand their knowledge of content that is ever-changing, enhance instructional strategies, get exposed to the diverse needs of the state and country, and gain resources that will supplement the current abstinence-based board approved curriculum.

The ACS is designed to bring health educators and other professionals of the health industry a unique professional development opportunity.

The participants choose from a variety of workshops that will help expand their knowledge and resources so they can better serve their particular clientele, which ranges from middle school students to extreme at-risk persons.

Because of the wide spectrum of participant needs, the conference offers 35-40 different workshops and nationally renowned keynote speakers each year.

Here are links for the past two conferences: http://oregon-asc.org/conference/ and http://oregon-asc.org/2014-conference/.

Our health teachers choose workshops that are both relevant to the needs of our students and uphold the values of our community. The workshop brought under scrutiny in the recent articles published in KOIN 6 News met neither of these criteria, and therefor our educators did NOT attend nor retrieve materials that would be passed out to students.

The Sisters School District understands that adolescent sexuality and health-related issues are a fundamental part of family values and beliefs.

Our health teachers are sensitive to the fact that parents are the most influential and primary authority regarding their child's growth and development, which is why they practice the utmost transparency to ensure students do not engage in class curriculum that would not resonate with parents.

Every trimester, detailed syllabi and letters are sent home for parents to review and sign, with an encouragement for parents to ask questions or meet with teachers in person.

The family then determines if the material is in accordance with their belief system.

If the material is not in accordance with the family's belief system, then the parents have the right and prerogative to "opt-out" of that section.

Our health teachers work hard to appropriately educate our students about sensitive topics. They feel fortunate to have worked with many parents over the years to provide our community with a relevant health curriculum. We are always ready and eager to have an open dialogue with the community to ensure information regarding school issues is accurate and correct.