Dear Members of the Board of Elementary & Secondary Education,
The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) and our supporters are thrilled that, with the new Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Curriculum Framework, your administration has stated loud and clear that all students in the state of Massachusetts deserve health education that is inclusive, developmentally appropriate, and based in science. We were proud to work on these standards in their formative phase and are proud to endorse them now.
As an organization and community committed to ending sexual violence, we are encouraged to know that standards in the curriculum framework will emphasize:
- Bystander Empowerment: Students will learn effective strategies to help those who may be targeted by sexual violence, empowering them to support their peers and prevent violence.
- Consent: Centering consent, highlighting one’s responsibility to check for consent, and respecting non-consent reduce victim blaming and focus on preventing decisions that harm others (i.e. abusive behaviors).
- Healthy Relationships: Promoting positive skills such as empathy, listening, and non-violent conflict resolution fosters healthy relationships. Further, discussion of relationship violence highlights central issues of power and control, helping students recognize when they are at risk.
- Inclusivity: Incorporating diverse gender, sexual, and other identities uplifts students’ individual dignity, creates safer environments, and helps prevent sexual and relationship violence.
We are strong advocates for the framework’s comprehensive range of sexual violence prevention strategies, including linking social influences to personal behaviors as well as creating health and safety standards at both the individual and community levels. Prevention education is most effective when students receive it before their first experience of suffering, or especially committing, violence.
We are energized knowing the framework will lead to educational continuity, filling previous gaps in curricula so that students’ learning about consent, for example, is consistent across grade levels.
At BARCC, we know that early education about consent, boundaries, healthy relationships, and inclusivity prevents sexual violence. We also know all too well the violent consequences of inaction, misinformation, and educational iniquities.
In its age-appropriate and trauma-informed approach to healthy relationships, consent, and violence prevention, this framework helps equip Massachusetts students with the skills to foster health for themselves, their peers, and their communities. That is why together, we stand in support of the framework and look forward to its immediate implementation.
Thank you for your attention to this important issue and for your efforts to empower future generations and prevent sexual violence.
Sincerely,
Duane de Four
Interim Executive Director
Thank you for showing your support!
Name | Location | Comment | Signed |
---|---|---|---|
Sabrina Marie Wadhams | Everett, MA | 8/27/2023 | |
Jennifer Cook | Watertown, MA | 8/26/2023 | |
Annamarie Williams | Johannesburg, South Africa | “Yes I support this framework.” | 8/26/2023 |
Zoe Bleicher | Brighton, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Lucia Lansing | Somerville, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Sam Miller | Waltham, MA | “I believe in comprehensive health education.” | 8/25/2023 |
Annie Connolly | Somerville, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Brock Christopherson | Somerville, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Katherine Lonergan | Belmont, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Julie Kahn-Schaye | Cambridge, MA | “The need for comprehensive, affirming, accurate health and wellness education for all Massachusetts youth continues to be a pressing need!” | 8/25/2023 |
Emma Morehouse-Hulbert | Brookline, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Kaydee Vraspier | Cambridge, MA | “Ending the cycle of intimate partner and gender-based violence starts with prevention work via early education about consent and healthy relationships.” | 8/25/2023 |
Shruti Gautam | Columbia, MO | 8/25/2023 | |
Jessie Alvira | Stow, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Beth Grampetro | Dedham, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Emma Stewart Rukeyser | Allston, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Emma Neuner | Boston, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Hannah Linscott | Cambridge, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Martha Rogers | Arlington, MA | “I am a retired teacher and a survivor of incest. I deeply endorse BARCC’s advocacy for children’s right to a clear, balanced education about sexuality. The revised MA curriculum framework on sexual violence prevention strategies empowers children to recognize and uphold their own boundaries and understand that consent is a birthright.” | 8/25/2023 |
Arleigha Cook, Esq. | Cambridge, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Savannah D. | Boston, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Alyssa Pascoe | Somerville, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Regina Walker | Arlington, MA | “I believe sex education is important because young people should know about their sexual reproductive systems to practice safe sex and create best preventative practices to reduce teen pregnancy, sexual violence, and STIs. “ | 8/25/2023 |
Natalie Fenwick | Boston, MA | “All students deserve a comprehensive sex education “ | 8/25/2023 |
Cathleen Bonner | Seattle, WA | “Sex education is more than understanding about pregnancy and STIs; children develop concepts of gender and discrimination so early. All schools should help children understand how harassment and assault impacts all people and communities, and teach them how to seek help.” | 8/25/2023 |
Ciara Woodward | Arlington, MA | “Reducing sexual violence, domestic violence, STDs, and unwanted pregnancies begins with comprehensive, accurate sex education. If Massachusetts won’t require sex ed in public schools, they should at the very least require any information taught be medically accurate.” | 8/25/2023 |
Shameka Gregory | Cambridge, MA | “Education is a key and crucial component in prevention. Let’s equip our young people with the knowledge and skills needed to make the right decision for themselves and know how to communicate when something isn’t okay. We have to pour everything we can into ending sexual violence.” | 8/25/2023 |
Zaida Block | Cambridge, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Yashika Dewani | Roxbury, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Claire Schnadig | Concord, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Samantha Duggan | Allston, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Lizzie Jameson | Cambridge, MA | 8/25/2023 | |
Lauren Glaser | Boston, MA | 8/24/2023 | |
Grace Festa | Milton, MA | 8/24/2023 | |
Jared Feldman | Cambridge, MA | 8/24/2023 | |
Sarah Miller | Needham, MA | 8/24/2023 | |
Veronica Severn | Cambridge, MA | 8/24/2023 | |
Amanda Coppola | East Boston, MA | 8/24/2023 | |
Marcela Perches | Boston, MA | “Sex education plays a crucial part in preventing rape and other forms of sexual abuse. Sex education allows a person to recognize behaviors leading up to sexual abuse and prevent it before it happens. The earlier a child can recognize these signs the more lives we can save. Additionally, the earlier children learn about sex education the more aware they become of their own actions. With comprehensive sex education, they can learn, recognize, prevent, and share knowledge with others who may not have access to this information. “ | 8/24/2023 |
Kevin Niccoli | Dalton, MA | “This is important fundamental education.” | 8/24/2023 |
Michael Milller | Needham, MA | 8/24/2023 | |
Vinayak Sinha | Somerville, MA | “This is an important goal critical to improved health education. “ | 8/24/2023 |
Micaela Godfrey | Berlin, MA | “This is a big issue that’s really important for the future generations to understand well.” | 8/24/2023 |
Anna Miller | Waltham, MA | 8/24/2023 | |
Li Yin Cheok | Cambridge, MA | 8/24/2023 | |
Claire Valian | Boston, MA | 8/24/2023 | |
Lisa Gyuro | Brookline, MA | 8/24/2023 | |
Samuel Miller | Boston, MA | 8/24/2023 | |
Lottie Hedden | Boston, MA | 8/24/2023 | |
Natalie Fox | Manhattan Beach, CA | 8/24/2023 | |
Giselle Higuera | Newton Highlands, MA | 8/24/2023 | |
Beth Molnar | Milton, MA | “It’s about time. We have known for decades that providing comprehensive education about sexual health and healthy relationships is what young people need to live their best healthy lives. The scientific evidence supporting this has been there for many years.” | 8/24/2023 |
Aren Briggs | Wilmington, MA | “Inclusive sex education saves lives.” | 8/24/2023 |
Julie Scaramella | Auburndale, MA | 8/24/2023 | |
Laura Golas | Roslindale, MA | 8/19/2023 | |
Jonathan Beit-Aharon | Newton, MA | “I strongly support the notion that all students deserve health education that is inclusive, developmentally appropriate, and based in consent.” | 8/18/2023 |
Kelly Schomber | Brighton , MA | 8/18/2023 | |
Navya Shetty | Boston, MA | “I am extremely passionate about educating the youth, especially through health education that is informative and not judgmental. It is important that people know their resources and preventive measures they can take to keep them safe.” | 8/18/2023 |
Amy Blenk | Boston, MA | “As a longtime supporter of BARCC approaching the decade mark in my career as a Massachusetts public school teacher, I believe deeply in the value and importance of these new frameworks! DESE must value our students as whole humans, not just test scores.” | 8/17/2023 |
Michele Chausse | Danvers, MA | 8/17/2023 | |
Bree Allen | Brookline, MA | 8/17/2023 | |
Rebecca Fisher | Somerville, MA | 8/17/2023 | |
Ketura’h Edwards-Robinson | Randolph, MA | “As a women’s health nurse practitioner and as a SANE, I’ve observed firsthand the consequences of poor sexual health education among our young people and know that we need to be doing something differently.” | 8/17/2023 |
Carol Anne Marchetti | Reading, MA | 8/16/2023 | |
Samantha Singer | Newton, MA | “Children need to learn about this.” | 8/16/2023 |
Carolyn Boudreau | Arlington, MA | 8/16/2023 | |
Amanda Molina Dumas | Mllbury, MA | “Sex education saves lives – it’s just that simple!!” | 8/16/2023 |
Jonathan Larson | Northampton, MA | 8/16/2023 | |
Maria Pena | Somerville, MA | “I taught first grade for four years, and each year I felt that it was important to set the foundation for consent. As a class, we talked about when things are uncomfortable, we can talk to someone about it, like a trusted adult. We also discussed saying no, and respecting others when they say no. There was no curriculum for this though, it was something I felt was important to address, and it helped them navigate social situations as well.” | 8/16/2023 |
Lorraine Kermond | Somerville, MA | 8/16/2023 | |
Barbara Munsey | Duxbury, MA | “Sexual violence against a female of any age is unacceptable. Preventable pregnancy should be a given at any age. I support BARCC.” | 8/16/2023 |
Sami Greenberg | Hyde Park, MA | “I really appreciate the thought, care, and scope that are present in this new curriculum.” | 8/16/2023 |
Lauren Glaser | Jamaica Plain, MA | 8/16/2023 | |
Elizabeth Claggett-Borne | Cambridge, MA | “As a liscensed Family therapist (LMFT) in Massachusetts, I talk with desperate parents about the insidious misogynist messages teenagers receive about sexuality and gender. This important education curriculum can literally save lives. It prevents our teens from abusing themselves or others.” | 8/16/2023 |
Roberta L Fox | Newton Centre, MA | “Massachusetts children should learn not only the so-called “facts of life”, but also understand what constitutes healthy relationships, consent, and how to intervene when they see others not following those principles.” | 8/16/2023 |
Kate Shannon | Boston, MA | “Comprehensive sex ed is crucial for young adults to grow up in to safe, healthy adults who respect themselves and other people.” | 8/16/2023 |
Brandon Douglas | Somerville, MA | 8/16/2023 | |
Marisa Bartolotta | Lowell, MA | 8/16/2023 | |
Emma Sipperly | Boston, MA | 8/16/2023 | |
Karla Valentin | Hyde Park, MA | “This so important to support. When I was young, there was no information available for me and I went through a lot once I became older and aware of BARCC it was life-changing.” | 8/16/2023 |
Kaitlin Cruz | Everett, MA | “I agree with BARCC’s statement to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education that all students deserve health education that is inclusive, developmentally appropriate, and based in science. Consent is absolutely key, and the notion of inclusivity of diverse gender, sexual, and other identities in school education is so important and something that I wish I had learned more about while I was in school.” | 8/16/2023 |
Clara Cahill Farella | Framingham, MA | 8/16/2023 | |
Alexandra Kane | Boston, MA | “I want all students in Massachusetts to have all of the information and education that they need to make healthy decisions for themselves. The proposed education framework provides more opportunity for students to learn about healthy relationships, which will help all people in the Commonwealth lead better lives.” | 8/16/2023 |
Beverly Greene | Newton, MA | 8/16/2023 | |
Leslie Pucker | Newton, MA | 8/16/2023 | |
Wendy Laporte | Boston, MA | “I’m exercising my civil rights because I’m homeless.” | 8/16/2023 |
Bahar Sheikhi | Wellesley, MA | 8/16/2023 | |
Katherine Canas | Wellesley Hills, MA | “All children should be well informed and educated on this topic.” | 8/15/2023 |
Jennifer ONeill | Norwood, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Rachel Henba | Tewksbury, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Josef Blumenfeld | Natick, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Jacquelin Apsler | Concord, MA | “Well-balanced, inclusive, appropriate health education with an emphasis on consent and empowerment is vital for the mental health of our youth.” | 8/15/2023 |
Megan OHara | Roslindale, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Lorraine Bartone | Lynn, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Lisa Haggerty-DelDotto | North Andover, MA | “As a retired Massachusetts SANE, I have always felt that BARCC is the cornerstone of the mission to help end sexual violence through education, community involvement, and bringing empowerment and healing to all that have been victimized.” | 8/15/2023 |
Laurie Johnston | Milford, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
James Blandini | Malden, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Melanie Matson | East Arlington, MA | “This is important.” | 8/15/2023 |
Maura McAuliffe | Sharon, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Rachel Fish | Cambridge, MA | “Sex education is incredibly important. I have 3 children in public schools and want them to have quality education that includes health and sexual health education.” | 8/15/2023 |
Wendi Guraziu | Somerville, MA | “In all matters- sexual, racial etc. – ignorance on a topic feeds mistrust, fear, and acts of violence.” | 8/15/2023 |
Deborah Dondzik | Duxbury, VT | 8/15/2023 | |
Alex Lipman | Needham, MA | “Sex education is key in ensuring that our teens have the correct information to make informed choices and having the proper information about contraception.” | 8/15/2023 |
Alaina Kinol | Boston, MA | “It is essential to teach consent as early and often as possible to ensure that everyone knows that they and no one else have the right to choose what happens to their body.” | 8/15/2023 |
Lisa Cleverdon | Ipswich, MA | “I strongly believe in a comprehensive sex education program appropriate & geared toward all ages. Education is knowledge, knowledge is safety & protection and strength to make the right choices.” | 8/15/2023 |
Ana Maria Ramos | Brookline, MA | “As a parent to young kids, I want my children to learn necessary skills and information from a comprehensive sex education curriculum. I support the Healthy Youth Act as a parent and a professional.” | 8/15/2023 |
Kaeli Huh | Medford, MA | “Consent is an everybody issue. However, we simply cannot expect people to give consent if they’ve never received a comprehensive sex education. Knowledge is power.” | 8/15/2023 |
Jo Gray | Newton, MA | “This kind of comprehensive and inclusive health education is what we need more of to keep people informed, educated and safe!” | 8/15/2023 |
Margaret Coffey | Medford, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Norma Egan | Somerville, MA | “Sex education is extremely important. As the mother of a teenager, I know that I can teach at home but having this taught in school with his peers is just as important.” | 8/15/2023 |
Rachel Banderob | Wilmington, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Brenna Oliver | Wakefield, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Rebecca Epstein | Bedford, NH | “Young people deserve to understand their bodies, risks, and especially consent. Abstinence education does not work.” | 8/15/2023 |
Ruth Schmidt | Arlington, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Rachel Cann | Boston, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Michael Francis | North Andover, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Jean MacRae | Newton, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Maria Cordoba | Acushnet, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Daisy Wang | Boston, MA | “I believe that in order for everyone to have the ability to live a healthier and more joyous life, we all deserve adequate education like this new framework is proposing.” | 8/15/2023 |
Ashleigh Stephenson | Cambridge, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Susan Staples | Lawrence, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Becky Kung | Boston, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Emily Hansen | Boston, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Kennedy Kearney-Fischer | Malden, MA | “Sexual violence is extremely pervasive in our society, and we owe it to our young people to do everything we can to protect them from it. That starts with empowering them with knowledge about their bodies, consent, healthy relationships, and how and when to intervene for others.” | 8/15/2023 |
Edson Lacerda | Brighton, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Lisa Rivera | Haverhill, MA | “Children should be given a better understanding on the importance of education. While some conversations may not occur at home due to the discomfort of a parent not knowing where to begin, school can provide that.” | 8/15/2023 |
Jessica Atkinson | Roslindale, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Laura DiMaria | Quincy, MA | “All students deserve health education that is inclusive, developmentally appropriate, and based in consent. It takes us one step closer to preventing sexual violence and building a safer future for all!” | 8/15/2023 |
Madeleine Lachevre | Somerville, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Drew Hogg | Hampton, NH | “The mission is important and impactful to the future of the world to understand and incorporate this stuff into everyday cirriculum so that students can learn earlier on and start them on the right path, initiating it rather than correcting it later in life when it could be too late.” | 8/15/2023 |
Jill Reilly | South Boston, MA | “We need to put BARCC out of business by supporting its work to end sexual violence. The Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Curriculum Framework will support that mission by providing students with inclusive health education that will help to build a safer future for all of us.” | 8/15/2023 |
Kathleen Cohen | Needham, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Jennifer Rheaume | Belmont, MA | “People should not have sex without being fully informed and educated.” | 8/15/2023 |
Carolyn Marsden | Walpole, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Yelena Gorbovets | Medford, MA | “Great cause and organization to be a part of.” | 8/15/2023 |
Ashley Augulewicz | Beverly, MA | “Consent and healthy relationships are absolutely necessary for the curriculums that educate our youth in MA and beyond. “ | 8/15/2023 |
Natalie Hill | Medford, MA | “Sex Ed keeps young people safe!” | 8/15/2023 |
Laura Tourtellotte | Somerville, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Alina Fein | Cambridge, MA | “Comprehensive sex education is life changing and life saving.” | 8/15/2023 |
Colleen McGuire | Allston, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Katherine Manners | Natick, MA | 8/15/2023 | |
Jodi Ferber | Watertown, MA | “I’m a survivor. Thank you.” | 8/15/2023 |
Jessica Ortega | Brookline, MA | “I believe that comprehensive sex education is needed to improve the health and safety of our community “ | 8/15/2023 |
Alyssa Helmling | Somerville, MA | “Comprehensive sex ed is critical for creating healthy understanding of consent and sex.” | 8/15/2023 |
Yvonne Elizabeth Ashworth | North Grafton, MA | “I’m a survivor.” | 8/15/2023 |
Dominick Knowles | Medford, MA | “PE courses, in my experience, have been hotbeds of misogyny, transphobia, fatphobia, ableism, and racism. Young people deserve an inclusive and consent-based education that takes physical and social difference into account.” | 8/15/2023 |
Hailey Hansen | New Paltz, NY | 8/15/2023 | |
Madison Bell | Boston, MA | “As a social worker supporting survivors of sexual harm, I am particularly familiar with the challenges, and really the tragedies, that result when our youth do not have access to research-based, inclusive, appropriate health education. While I’m proud of the efforts my colleagues and I make to address sexual violence at the University level, I can say from my experience that effective prevention and education must begin years earlier if we want to meaningfully reduce rates of sexual violence and ensure that our young people are confident, healthy, and empowered. The children and teens of MA deserve better, and I’m confident that this Curriculum Framework is a wonderful and necessary leap in the right direction.” |