Project KNOW
Project KNOW
Project KNOW, offered through Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES, equips component school districts with comprehensive health and wellness education. The program is designed to help students make informed decisions regarding their personal well-being by providing age-appropriate, evidence-based curriculum that emphasizes healthy relationships, emotional intelligence, and informed life choices.
Through interactive workshops and expert-led sessions, Project KNOW focuses on empowering students with the knowledge they need to navigate challenges related to physical, emotional, and mental health. The service encourages collaborative discussions within school communities, fostering a safe and supportive environment where students feel confident discussing topics like peer pressure, substance abuse, and healthy communication.
Project KNOW is a vital resource for schools looking to enhance their health education programs and promote a culture of well-being across their student populations.
Fifth Grade
Content
- Exploring the different components that make up the concept of sexuality
- Identifying adults who can be trusted to provide reliable information and advice
- Understanding puberty, human growth, and reproduction
- Getting questions answered
National Sexuality Education Standards Addressed:
- Describe male and female reproductive systems including body parts and their functions (AP.5 CC.1)
- Identify medically accurate information about female and male reproductive anatomy. (AP.5 AI.1)
- Explain the physical, social and emotional changes that occur during puberty and adolescence. (PD.5 CC.1)
- Explain ways to manage the physical and emotional changes associated with puberty. (PD.3 SM.1)
- Explain how the timing of puberty and adolescent development varies considerably and can still be healthy. (PD.5 SS.2)
- Identify parents or other trusted adults of whom students can ask questions about puberty and adolescent health issues. (PD.5 AI.2)
- Describe how puberty prepares human bodies for the potential to reproduce. (PD.5 CC.3)
5th and 6th Grade Programming highlights the physical, emotional, and social changes during puberty. Also, basic reproduction, childbirth, and parenting responsibilities are presented.
Sixth Grade
Content
- Puberty Review
- Decision-making and assertive communication skills
- Healthy relationships and parenting (adult vs. teen)
National Sexuality Education Standards Addressed:
- Demonstrate the use of a decision-making model and evaluate possible outcomes of decisions adolescents might make. (PD.8 DM.1)
- Define sexual abstinence as it relates to pregnancy prevention. (PR.8 CC.2)
- Examine how alcohol and other substances, friends, family, media, society and culture influence decisions about engaging in sexual behaviors. (PR.8 INF.1)
- Demonstrate the use of effective communication skills to support one’s decision to abstain from sexual behaviors. (PR.8 IC.1)
5th and 6th Grade Programming highlights the physical, emotional, and social changes during puberty. Also, basic reproduction, childbirth, and parenting responsibilities are presented.
Middle Level
Content
- Building healthy relationships including dating relationships
- Exploring the complexities of teen pregnancy
- Applying decision-making and assertive communication skills in relationships
- Reproduction review and getting questions answered
National Sexuality Education Standards Addressed:
- Define sexual abstinence as it relates to pregnancy prevention. (PR.8 CC.2)
- Examine how alcohol and other substances, friends, family, media, society and culture influence decisions about engaging in sexual behaviors. (PR.8 INF.1)
- Demonstrate the use of effective communication skills to support one’s decision to abstain from sexual behaviors. (PR.8 IC.1)
- Compare and contrast the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy relationships. (HR.8 CC.1)
- Analyze the ways in which friends, family, media, society and culture can influence relationships. (HR.8 INF.1)
- Demonstrate communication skills that foster healthy relationships. (HR.8 IC.1)
- Describe the advantages and disadvantages of communicating using technology and social media. (HR.8 CC.5)
Middle level programming considers the responsibilities and consequences of decisions in relationships including the impact of premature sexual intercourse on personal, family, and social life.
High School
Content
- Understanding the Components of Human Sexuality
- Exploring values and decision-making regarding sexuality
- Healthy relationship characteristics
- Risk levels of sexual behaviors
- Pregnancy prevention including methods of contraception
National Sexuality Education Standards Addressed:
- Analyze the influence of friends, family, media, society and culture on the expression of gender, sexual orientation and identity. (ID12. INF.1)
- Describe characteristics of healthy and unhealthy romantic and/or sexual relationships. (HR.12 CC.1)
- Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of abstinence and other contraceptive methods, including condoms. (PR.12 CC.1)
- Access medically accurate information about contraceptive methods, including abstinence and condoms. (PR.12 AI.1)
- Describe the steps to using a condom correctly. (PR.12 SM.1)
- Define emergency contraception and describe its mechanism of action. (PR.12 CC.2)
- Access medically accurate information and resources about emergency contraception. (PR.12 AI.2)
- Evaluate the potentially positive and negative roles of technology and social media in relationships. (HR.12 CC.4)
High School programming challenges the students to think about their values and the decisions they make regarding sexuality.
