Contraception discussion

School Health Advisory Council members Thursday tossed around the subject of teaching contraception at the district’s Teen Parent Center at the request of TPC principal Claudette Jones.

Council secretary Laura Mathew said last year the faith-based Life Center presented an absti-nence-based sexual education session to the preg-nant or at-risk female students that wasn’t received well by the teens.

Mathew said the teens were told the preferred way to have a child was through marriage, and some of the students didn’t appreciate that.

The students were told about the “perfect guy” and to “save themselves,” Jones said, noting it was a little late for that considering the students’ situa-tions.

“I just think the message wasn’t geared for our girls as much,” Jones said.

Instead, Jones said, the teenagers — in which some as young as 16 have a child or are married with a child — need to know the facts about sex, contraception, STDs, loving someone without being physical and healthy relationships.

“Knowledge is knowledge,” Jones said. “Let’s give them all the knowledge we can about all of it. To give them a gray area and shade all of it, I think is wrong.”

Ideally, Mathew and Jones agreed, a physician should teach the sessions to present a medical perspective and hopefully the person could touch on mental issues, such as postpartum depression, Jones said.

She said she’s looking for a curriculum to help the students with mental issues.

Mathew said if approved, the council would then make a recommendation to Ector County Independent School District trustees.

Council chairwoman Rhonda Espinoza said she would request the student evaluations from the Life Center session at the TPC to review at a fu-ture SHAC meeting.

Jones said TPC students learn about relation-ships and sexual education through some classes at the center, such as parenting or birthing courses, but the topics aren’t delved into thoroughly.

The students need to also be able to understand how to deal with emotions and how to build self-esteem by knowing they don’t have to “prove themselves” to show they love someone, Jones said.

SHAC member Jeff Russell — who was ap-proved by the council as its vice chairman on Thursday — agreed self-esteem needs to be taught to the almost 140 female students enrolled at TPC.

SHAC members Lorrie Vickers and Johnny Car-ter agreed. Carter said respecting themselves as individuals is the key to the teens understanding contraception and how to build self-esteem.

“If they don’t value the rest of their lives, then there’s no reason for them to use it,” Carter said.

In other business, Russell brought up a discus-sion item about school lunch menus and how wa-ter should be added to the beverage selection.

Espinoza asked Mathew to invite ECISD nutri-tion director Terry Gooch to a future SHAC meeting so members may address their concerns about the menu and to hear the latest with the school nutrition department.

Members also discussed members’ participation in the Permian Basin Health Fair and how they helped raise awareness of the state-mandated fitness assessments that Susan Nix, science, health and PE coordinator for ECISD, is coordinating throughout the school district.