School board questions sex education change

BROOKVILLE - Following a presentation by a concerned parent, members of the Brookville School Board asked when and why a portion of the elementary school curriculum had been changed.
Carol Shindler of Church Street, Brookville, told the board that she has three children in school, in grades 11, 9 and 5. "I was recently informed," she said, "that the school is no longer offering any type of sex ed classes to the fifth and sixth graders. I'm kind of at a loss as to why the school has made a decision to disregard the importance of this."

Shindler, who is a registered nurse anesthetist, said that she agrees that the primary responsibility for sex education "does fall with the parents, but I think the school needs to be involved in providing factual, age-appropriate information. Puberty is a time of physical and emotional changes which can be very frightening to an unprepared child. I believe the school should be teaching physical development, reproductive anatomy and physiology, bodily changes and emotional changes in an age-appropriate curriculum. Parents who would want to opt out of this could certainly be given that option. There are a lot of children that have a very poor home life and a lot of them are not going to get proper and accurate explanations at home."

She added that "I know many parents are very satisfied with the Safe Touch program that is offered in the earlier grades. In a time when there is more child abuse, teen pregnancies, STDs, AIDS and so forth, I'm not sure how it's possible for the school to ignore the elementary children. They need to be instilled with the knowledge to help them care for their bodies and to help them maintain personal boundaries, to understand when lines of impropriety have been crossed and who they should report it to."

Shindler told the board that she "would like to know what, if any, plan the school has to address this now or in the future to make sure our children have accurate information and support for their well-being as they begin the maturation process."

She said that her two older children both had received sex education in elementary school but her 10-year-old daughter, who is in fifth grade, "has not had anything." When she talked to Hickory Grove principal Ed Dombroski, she was told "there was no more program," and there is no type of sex ed program until ninth grade.

As several members of the board asked when and why the sex ed program had been dropped without the board being involved, board president Tom Maloney told Shindler that it would not be discussed at the meeting. "But your question is certainly a very valid one and the administration can follow up."

During his report on last month's IU6 meeting, Michael Smith told the board that the IU6 executive director, John Kornish, will be retiring in August. He said the board will start its search for someone to fill the position.
Board member Fred Park reported on a busy board meeting at Jeff Tech, at which several staff vacancies were filled. He said Jeff Tech's reorganizational meeting will be held Thursday, December 6, with a workshop and dinner to precede the meeting. He encouraged all board members to attend.

The next meeting of the Brookville School Board will be held Monday, December 3. The board will hold its reorganizational meeting at 7 p.m., followed by the monthly board meeting.