Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
 |
San Francisco Examiner - March 4, 2008
Mike Silvestri, msilvestri@baltimoreexaminer.com
Gateway School principal Bob Cullison and the county's Health Department wanted to start a course called Making Proud Choices that stresses abstinence but also teaches how to use condoms, which county school board members said needed to be changed to fit with the county's abstinence-based policies.
"The real issue we're trying to address at the Gateway School is the cons of risky behavior: HIV, AIDS and STDs," said Steve Johnson, Carroll's assistant superintendent of curriculum. "We're not at all interested in condoms."
"It just would need so many modifications in order to meet our standards, and we have an abstinence-based program in Carroll County, that it just wouldn't be worth it," Johnson said.
Superintendent Chuck Ecker said they will consider teaching abstinence at Gateway, which offers online health classes.
Students at the school in Westminster are often more sexually active than other students and at a higher risk to contract sexually transmitted diseases or become pregnant to begin with, said Cindy Marucci-Bosley, women's health program manager at the Carroll Health Department. About 12 percent of girls at Gateway reported being pregnant last year, Cullison said.
Last year the board also failed to act on a recommendation from its Family Life Committee, made up of health teachers, parents and students, that it teach birth control to eighth-grade students.
Baltimore City and Baltimore and Howard counties teach students about birth control in eighth grade, but Carroll, Harford and Anne Arundel counties wait to teach it until students reach high school.
080304
SE080301
Copyright © 2008 - San Francisco Examiner. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the San Francisco Examiner, Permissions Desk, 110 Fifth Street, P.O. Box 7260, San Franciso, CA 94120.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Elton John AIDS Foundation UK, the National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2008. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2008. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .