MCH Student:

Alyssa Sajady

Date of Defense:

December 15 , 2014

Abstract:

This report focuses on the sexuality education needs at the Minnesota Internship Center (MNIC),  an alternative charter high school district in Minneapolis. The objective of the following  analysis was to determine if the comprehensive sexuality education curriculum, Family Life and  Sexual Health (FLASH), would meet the National Health Education Standards (NHES) and be  beneficial for MNIC students. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Health  Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT) was used to evaluate FLASH’s 19 lessons, and  the extent to which the curriculum met the eight NHES standards and performance indicators in  the HECAT reflected its suitability for MNIC schools. In the evaluation, all standards were met  to some degree, only lacking in a few performance indicators for each standard. These gaps  were insignificant and inapplicable to students at MNIC, and simple components and activities  could be added to each lesson to fulfill these indicators, if needed. The results show that FLASH  is a promising program for comprehensive sexuality education implementation at MNIC. However, several changes and additions are recommended within MNIC’s sexuality  education program as a whole to maximize learning and to protect students’ health in the  future.  This paper offers recommendations for MNIC to improve current practices for sexuality  education in order to promote the health of all students.