In March 2016, the Parkway Board of Education adopted the K – 12 Healthy Relationships and Sexual Health (HRSH) Curriculum Frameworks. The HRSH Frameworks includes program goals, learning outcomes, and procedural guidelines for the successful implementation of this curriculum at all school levels in the Parkway School District. The curriculum, which entails the My Growing Body Units (Grades K-2), Growth and Development Units (Grades 3-5), and Healthy Relationships and Sexual Health Units (Grades 6-8 & HS), were implemented during the 2016-17 school year. This website has been developed for parents and community members to familiarize themselves with curriculum content and the sequencing of learning outcomes. Please contact your child's health and physical education teacher for more information regarding the schedule for implementation at your child's school.
The Parkway School District’s Mission - to develop capable, confident, curious students, who are prepared for the ever-changing world - is a commitment that spans all discipline areas, including health education. Healthy students are critical to the district’s pursuit of this mission. Students who feel capable possess the knowledge and skills that are needed to promote healthful behaviors. Students who feel confident connect their feelings of well-being and acceptance of themselves. Students who are curious will help seek answers for and discover ways to enhance their health. Students who able to respond to the challenges of the ever-changing world have an understanding of oneself and the diverse world students live in and have the health skills necessary for navigating it.
The Parkway School District Mission serves to filter all of the decisions that go into the development of the Healthy Relationships & Sexual Health (HRSH) curriculum. It is important to note that the sexual health curriculum is aligned to Parkway Health and Physical Education (HPE) Standards, and guided by standards and outcomes that have been developed by professional health organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), American School Health Association (ASHA), Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) and the Society of Health and Physical Education of America, as well as the National Health Education Standards and National Sexuality Education Standards. The HRSH curriculum has also been audited for developmentally and age-appropriateness, as well as medical accuracy. It includes a broad set of topics related to human growth and sexuality, including abstinence, contraception, disease prevention, healthful relationships, family life, social-emotional-mental health, and preventive care. The overall goal of the HRSH curriculum is to provide young people with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to promote their sexual health and personal well-being as they mature into healthy adults, presented in a way that is factual, nonjudgmental, and absent of any imposing of personal values.
The HRSH units/lessons live in the Health and Physical Education (HPE) Curriculum. The HRSH unit at each grade level encompasses approximately 20% of the health education portion of the HPE curriculum and 4% of the overall HPE Curriculum. HRSH lessons are taught by certified health education specialists and often assisted by school nurses and counselors with content delivery and support. The Parkway HRSH curriculum is implemented in accordance with Missouri HB 501 and the Parkway Policy for Healthy Relationships and Sexual Health Education (IHAMB). The curriculum was last reviewed in 2014-2016 with the newly adopted curriculum implemented in the 2016-17 school year.