Dear High School Families,

Our Wellness Department continues to be excited to assist with student learning in Health. Part of your child’s curriculum in high school is devoted to continued health lessons and these topics are an important part of adolescence. The medically accurate, inclusive, developmentally and age-appropriate health lessons are taught by trained and qualified teachers, in a factual way.

Health, being an important topic, offers lessons, shared discussions, and activities on age-appropriate topics that contribute to our students’ social and emotional growth. The Health curriculum maps have been updated to reflect our main curricula (Heath Smart ETR https://www.etr.org/healthsmart/lessons/high-school/), the Massachusetts Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Frameworks, and the diversity within our schools. These topics are covered in a professional and dignified manner.  Our teachers are sensitive to the concerns of students and parents. The Regulations for the Massachusetts Student Rights Law (MGL Ch. 76, Sec. 5) state that "all public school systems shall, through their curricula, encourage respect for the human and civil rights of all individuals regardless of race, color, sex, gender identity, religion, national origin or sexual orientation." We are committed to upholding these rights and ensuring a safe and inclusive learning environment for all.

Our curriculum is led by the Massachusetts Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Frameworks and National Health Education Standards. The practices, or skills, of the new frameworks, are decision-making and problem-solving, self-management and goal-setting, social awareness, relationship and communication skills, movement skills (taught in physical education class), self-awareness and analyzing influences, information and resource-seeking, self-advocacy, and health promotion. The topics found in the new standards are healthy relationships, personal safety, substance use and misuse, mental and emotional health, sexual health, and physical activity and fitness (taught mostly through physical education classes).  

State law (G.L. c. 71, § 1 and G.L. c. 71, § 3) requires all public schools to teach health education and physical education, but school districts have the discretion to determine how standards are implemented at the local level, including what curriculum and materials they will use. State law (G.L. c. 71, § 32A) gives parents the right to opt-out their children from specific portions of the sexual health curriculum and to specify the reason why.  We encourage all students to be a part of the sexual health unit.  However, if you wish your students not to participate, they may be exempted from specific lessons by completing the district-sanctioned process.  If you have any questions regarding the Health curriculum or the opt-out process, please reference the Wellness webpage and/or contact your student’s Health teacher. https://www.haverhill-ps.org/health-wellness-sex-education-curriculum/

The Wellness Department