Worcester Youth Deserve Comprehensive Sex Ed

In high school, students receive 13 or 14 lessons. These lessons dig into sexual health more than prior grades, including STIs and advances in prevention, contraceptive methods, condoms, and pregnancy. Like prior years, students will also review healthy and unhealthy relationships, gender and sexual orientation, boundaries and consent, and social influences on body image. If you want to learn more, watch the parent forum for high school students at bit.ly/WPSsexed

In the district-specific lesson sequence of Rights, Respect, Responsibility, 8th graders participate in 9 lessons. These focus on healthy and unhealthy relationships, communication, social influences, sexual abuse and trafficking, early pregnancy, and the basics of birth control and condoms.

Many of the 7th grade lessons deepen understanding of concepts covered in earlier years. There is also a lesson about online safety.

Continuing the trend to build upon lessons from prior years, sixth graders get more information on puberty, gender, and boundaries. They also begin talking more about romantic relationships.

The 5th grade lessons have the first coverage of sexual and reproductive anatomy, as well as topics like reproduction, gender, and conflict management.

Fourth graders begin learning about puberty and continue learning about bullying prevention and skills to support healthy friendships.

Third grade lessons clearly build on content from earlier grades, as students continue to learn about teasing and bullying, respecting differences and boundaries, and seeking help from trusted adults.

In the second grade, students focus on bullying, teasing, and safety. They also cover respect and gender stereotypes.

First graders get two foundational lessons: understanding bodily autonomy and beginning to talk about gender roles.