Summary
Get Real: Comprehensive Sex Education that Works, offered by Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts, provides a lesson-based approach to SEL with academic integration for health/sex education. It includes programming for grades 6-8 and demonstrates evidence of effectiveness at grades 6-8. Translated materials for Get Real are available in Spanish.
Strategies supporting educational equity (CASEL)
Get Real: Comprehensive Sex Education that Works offers strategies for understanding context, customizing for context, and youth action projects. This includes training designed to have teachers explore the range of personal values regarding sexuality that may be in their classroom, guidance throughout teacher manuals for adjusting lessons to meet the needs of students, and a culminating capstone project where students create a media campaign to promote positive messages about the context learned through the program.
Implementation
Below are key implementation details for this program. These specifications help determine if the program is a good fit for your school or organization.
Grade(s)
Middle (6-8)
Setting
Classroom, Home, Community
Language
English, Spanish
Cost
Pricing available through provider
# Lessons
27
Program Design
Tier 1 (Universal)
Technology Requirements
None Required
Professional Development
Onsite, Virtual, Offsite, Train the Trainer
Outcomes
Advocate for reducing stigma associated with emotional and mental and behavioral health
Compare & contrast emotional, mental-behavioral illness, mental well-being and concurrent disorders
Decreased suicidal behavior
Describe how self-harm or suicide impacts other people
Describe laws related to minors accessing mental health care
Explain how to help someone who is thinking about attempting suicide
Identify school and community resources that can help a person with emotional, mental and behavioral health concerns
Improved Academic Performance
Improved attitude/behavior related to suicide
Improved identification of individuals at-risk for suicide
Improved Identity Development/ Agency
Improved Prosocial Behavior
Improved School Climate
Improved School Connectedness
Improved SEL Skills and Attitudes
Improved Teaching Practices
Increased help-seeking behavior
Reduced Emotional Distress
Reduced Problem Behavior
Evidence of Effectiveness
Results from a randomized controlled trial evaluation published in 2014 supported the effectiveness of the Get Real: Comprehensive Sex Education That Works program for middle school students. In sum, this evaluation included 2,453 grades 6-8 students in urban schools in the Northeast (32% Black/African American, 24% white, 35% Hispanic; 72% of students in the participating districts were eligible for state-administered programs for low-income individuals). This evaluation found that students receiving the Get Real: Comprehensive Sex Education That Works program showed significantly lower implied likelihood of sexual debut by 8th grade than the control group (outcomes reported approximately nine weeks after baseline, while controlling for outcome pretest).
Published Studies
Refer to the provided CASEL for the most up-to-date published studies.
Grossman, J. M., Tracy, A. J., Charmaraman, L., Ceder, I., & Erkut, S. (2014). Protective Effects of Middle School Comprehensive Sex Education With Family Involvement. Journal of School Health, 84(11), 739-747.