Sex-ed pilot ‘not a big deal’ at Watkins Mill

Of nearly 200 students, only a dozen opt out of controversial curriculum

Out of 173 students taking health this semester, 12 opted out of the sex-ed curriculum and 13 did not return permission slips, according to Montgomery County Public Schools spokesman Brian Edwards.

Watkins Mill Principal Peter J. Cahall didn’t hear much from parents — and even less form students.

‘‘It came and went. It was so not a big deal,” Cahall said. ‘‘It was there and gone before I even blinked.”

Lon Hamann, president of the Watkins Mill Parent Teacher Student Association, also said there hasn’t been much of a stir among parents.

‘‘It hasn’t been brought to the PTSA as a big issue yet,” he said last week.

The field tests were scheduled to wrap up by the end of the month at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Sherwood High School, Argyle Middle School, Julius West Middle School and Westland Middle School.

The school system will use feedback from principals, teachers, parents, students and MCPS staff to ‘‘decide any changes or alterations,” before submitting the curriculum to the school board to approve it for all county schools, Edwards said.

The pilot lessons began at other schools earlier this month after State Superintendent of Schools Nancy Grasmick ruled March 7 that MCPS could move forward with the field tests.

During a forum in Gaithersburg March 8, opponents of the curriculum hailed Grasmick’s ruling as a partial victory because she said both parties were on equal footing.

The forum was hosted by parent advocacy groups Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays and Family Leader Network and drew more than 70 people — and several television news crews.

Michelle Turner, CRC vice president and spokeswoman, encouraged parents to keep their children out of the program.

The weekend before the pilot started, CRC sent out fliers and hired a firm to make automated phone calls to Watkins Mill parents.

In an interview this week, Turner said the CRC is ‘‘very satisfied” with its effort to inform parents about its concerns. They did not have a target goal for how many students would opt out, she said, but will be asking MCPS for a breakdown of the numbers countywide.

‘‘Our sole purpose was to point out some elements of the curriculum we were concerned with,” Turner said.

CRC and the other groups object to the curriculum because it teaches homosexuality as normal and does not give appropriate warnings about risks.

The group’s legal challenge of the curriculum is expected to be in court this summer.

Angela Hansen of Gaithersburg wanted to take a different tack with her 10th-grade son.

‘‘I’m tired of opting out,” she said after the forum. ‘‘I want to opt in. I want to take a stand and let my kids know that their mom and dad support them.”

Hansen, who also has an eighth-grade son at Montgomery Village Middle School worries that the opt-in⁄opt-out option will lead her son to be discriminated against.

‘‘My children will not be able to speak freely for fear of being labeled homophobic or ignorant when we’ve actually raised them to be loving and thoughtful young men,” Hansen said.

MCPS did not allow outside visitors in any of the sex-ed classes.

MCPS hosted forums for parents to discuss the curriculum.

‘‘Parents have had opportunity to see every word,” Edwards said.

By the numbers

Parents chose whether or not their children participated in a pilot of the county’s new sex-ed curriculum. At Watkins Mill, 86 percent of students taking health took the program:

148 opted in

12 opted out

13 did not return their permission slip

Source: MCPS