For 7th-9th Grade students, as of September 2024, Our Whole Lives (OWL) is a comprehensive sexuality course that aims to help students make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. It equips participants with accurate, age-appropriate information in many subject areas: human development, gender identity, relationships, sexual behavior, sexual health, consent, and society and culture. The OWL program helps participants clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality. Our Whole Lives covers topics and skills that both parents and students want to have available, but schools are less likely to cover.
The program at UUSD will be led by trained adult OWL facilitators and is based on 90-minute sessions maintained by the Unitarian Universalist Association. Regular attendance is required to provide the necessary foundation for the course’s more intimate subjects and create group trust. Students can miss no more than three classes in order to continue in and graduate from the program.
Our Whole Lives uses approaches that work, based on the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education produced by the National Guidelines Task Force, a group of leading health, education, and sexuality professionals assembled by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS).