PERRY COUNTY TO OFFER NEW SEX-ED CLASS NEXT SPRING

PERRYVILLE -- Teen-age pregnancy isn't paramount in Perry County but it could be prevented completely with a new sex-education program in Perryville schools.

Eighth-grade students at the junior high school will participate in the "Children Not Having Children" program next spring.

The program curriculum, sponsored by the Pro-H Coalition, was adopted by the Perry County Board of Education in September. It is the first year the program will be taught at the school.

The curriculum teaches abstinence, said Mary Gosche, program coordinator with University Extension.

"It teaches refusal skills to eighth-graders," she said. "They can realize that not everyone is having sex and there are consequences to early activity."

A unique aspect of the program is that parents are the first to get involved, Gosche said.

A second information meeting for parents will be held at 7 tonight at the Senior High School Library.

About 15 high school students will be peer educators for the program, said JoAnn Bachmann, community health nurse for the Perry County Health Department.

"Children Not Having Children" began in Atlanta. An Emory University professor wrote the curriculum.

The local program is funded by a grant through University of Missouri Extension.