Teaching students about ‘character’

Abstinence education offered in addition to SMS health curriculum

By Zack Anchors
Staff writer
    An organization whose abstinence education courses were turned away by the Scarborough school department two years ago offered after school abstinence education workshops at Scarborough High School this week.
    Maine Character Resource (MCR), a federally funded organization that promotes “character-based” education, held a three-session course at the request of a group of parents. Two years ago, when parents raised concerns about the use of contraceptives being included in the middle-school health education curriculum, some parents asked the School Board to consider including MCR’s abstinence program in the school’s curriculum. But the school system ultimately decided the courses would not be taught as part of the curriculum, in part due to the fact that the federal funding accompanying the program would limit the school from teaching about contraceptives, due to restrictions connected to the federal grant.
    When contacted last Friday, neither Scarborough High School principal Pat Conant nor superintendent David Doyle were aware that the course was being offered this week and stressed that the program was not associated with the school system.
    “This is not being done through the schools,” said Doyle. “It’s not a school sponsored event – it just happens to be taking place at the school.”
     According to Director of Scarborough Community Services Bruce Gullifer, who also had not heard of the course when first asked about it, the group filed a request for use of a room to offer a course that was described on the form as a “health education” workshop.
    Mary Schiavoni, president of Maine Character Resources, wrote in an e-mail that the course was offered in the high school because Community Services said that the school had the only room available. Shiavoni said former superintendent Bill Michaud had said that although MCR’s course could not be included in the school’s curriculum, parents would be welcome to organize an after school course.
    “The parents followed the procedure outlined by former superintendent Michaud, who made it clear that such a program would be welcome in the schools as an optional, after school program,” Schiavoni wrote.
    Around eight students attended the first session, held last Monday, according to a parent who attended the event and helped organize it. The parent, who preferred that her name not appear in the newspaper, said parents wanted to bring the program to Scarborough only to supplement the education students were getting through the health education course and did not want to rehash the controversy surrounding the issue in 2005.
    Among the topics discussed during the course offered this week, said Schiavoni, were the differences between attraction, love and infatuation, the media’s influence on teens and refusal skills that can be used in situations that involve risky behavior.
    “This guest program is derived from our full curriculum, the abstinence education course that has been available to the Scarborough school system for years now,” Schiavoni wrote.
    In 2005 the state of Maine refused to allow Heritage of Maine, a national organization connected to Maine Character Resources, to hold its abstinence courses in Maine schools as part of their curriculums. Maine’s public health director Dr. Dora Anne Mills and other public health officials questioned the effectiveness of the programs and expressed concern that they would violate a state law that requires schools to provide comprehensive sex education.
    Conant said abstinence education is a component of her school’s health education curriculum, but under state law, the school must provide a broader education.
    “This caused quite a bit of controversy a few years ago,” said Conant. “Abstinence is one part of the curriculum, but in order to be in compliance with state regulations we can’t only focus on that.”