ETP is featured in two places in Volume Two

You can access those sections here:

• Part Four: Who is doing what in the U.S. – Chapter 19 (pages 224-230 in the print edition)
• Part Seven: Evidence, evaluation and feedback – Chapter 30 (pages 412-414 in the print edition)

Ms. Kane’s charitable organization, Before Becoming a Parent, has generously made both volumes available for download in their entirety at www.beforebecomingaparent.org/our-books.

Volume One – Teaching parenthood in schools: Five centuries of heartfelt advocates

Volume Two – How to prepare children and young people at school to be good parents

The post Nothing More Important appeared first on Educate Tomorrow's Parents.

Yet according to the most current data, Child Protective Services is receiving child maltreatment reports on behalf of 7.7 million U.S. children annually.

ETP’s mission is to prevent these tragic situations through early education of teens before they form families. Through school-based curriculum, we are empowering teens with the vital information and skills they need to care for our next generation of children.

During times of rapid change like we are living through now, families are a crucial stabilizing force to provide, protect, and nurture children.

It’s more important than ever that young adults prepare in advance for the parenting stage of life so they can be well-equipped to shoulder this responsibility with the necessary resources and capacity to care for a child.

During this Thanksgiving season, Educate Tomorrow’s Parents (ETP) is deeply grateful that our work has been generously supported by the community for 20 years. This support has enabled us to provide guidance to over 43,000 teens.

We are especially thankful that many of our students have remained in touch with us over the years. We are learning that our curriculum is helping young people in more ways than we even expected.

It turns out that ETP’s lessons on adult life-skills, children’s needs, and appropriate family care is also helping many young people blossom into outstanding professionals who work with children and families.

Take for example Kemani Mullins, a young woman we met in 2014 when we conducted a program in her freshman high school Health Education class.

In 2016, she shared with us that she had seen children in her extended family living in hostile and unsafe conditions. And she described how ETP’s curriculum had brought her personal and professional goals into clearer focus. Kemani’s story >

Fast forward to today, which is 11 years since we first met Kemani.

Kemani has become a first-generation college graduate in her family! Kemani has a Bachelor’s degree in health care administration and is a Certified Nursing Assistant. Her work experience with patients has spanned from bedside care to financial services support.

Reflecting on the value of ETP’s lessons, Kemani wanted to share these thoughts with you:

“I will truly cherish what I learned in the ETP program for my lifetime. ETP’s mission — to ensure that families are the central stabilizing force to provide, protect, and nurture children — continues to stay with me as I’ve grown.

ETP’s lessons followed me into college and even helped me earn my bachelor’s degree. When I took a psychology course on child development, I realized how prepared I already was because of what ETP taught us.

Those skills showed up again when I worked at a pediatric urgent care center, where I was able to advocate for my little humans with confidence and compassion.

And now, as a new auntie, those same values help me show up as the best auntie I can be.

I’m so grateful that these lessons were instilled in me at a young age through the ETP program.”

With Heartfelt Gratitude

Thank you for being part of ETP’s endeavor to prepare young adults to care for our next generation of children. 

We wish you and your family all the joys of the holiday season.

Randi S. Rubenstein
Founder / CEO

P.S. During this season of thanks and giving, if you are able to do so, your support can help us continue our work. 

The post Kemani’s Story of ETP’s 11-year Impact appeared first on Educate Tomorrow's Parents.

“This entire lesson is great!!! It’s awesome and teaches everything I try to in a complete and holistic way. I truly love this lesson.” – Teacher

Educate Tomorrow’s Parents (ETP) has a NO-COST special offer for their highly-rated lessons, thanks to a generous donation from the Capital Quilters Guild who held a fundraiser at their Annual Quilt Show. The Guild have designated their funds to help North Carolina teens plan ahead for healthy families by providing ETP lessons to educators for free.

Eligibility: You are eligible if you educate teens in North Carolina and intend to use the materials before the end of this 2025-2026 academic year.  The lessons are particularly useful for high school teachers of Health & PE and Family and Consumer Science, and anyone who talks with teens about health and family (including youth leaders, counselors, homeschooling parents, etc.) The offer is available until the funds run out, or until June 30, 2026, whichever comes first. (NOTE: This is an extension from the prior deadline of Dec. 31, 2025)

ETP’s lessons are standards-based for Health & FACS courses, low-prep, well documented, and interactive.

Topics include life-planning, healthy relationships, risk avoidance, preconception health, and self-care.

Instructions

1. Consider one or more of these three lesson products. 

To learn more, click on the title.  In the bundles, the lessons are free-standing, enabling you to conduct one or all of them. 

Bundle: The Dream of Family Unit

Lessons 1, 2, 3: The three lessons included are: Importance of Family, Purpose of Parenting, and Goals for Family. 

Bundle: Forming a Family Unit

Lessons 4, 5: The two lessons included are: Relationships for Family, and Timing and Health for Family.

Our Needs and Care

Lesson 6: Exploring Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in teens’ current lives, students build self-care skills and skills to care for a future family.

2. Complete this Request Form

A license for your requested lessons will be transferred to you through the TeachersPayTeachers platform. From this platform you will be able to download the lessons, and you will also have ongoing access to future updates. 

3. Download the materials, then Read and Teach. 

These are low-prep lessons that can be taught the next day. 

ETP’s request of recipients: After you conduct the lessons, please complete our brief survey providing the number of students instructed and feedback, for a report to the donor.

Any questions?

If you want to know more about the materials or how to tailor a lesson for your students, feel free to contact Randi Rubenstein, Executive Director (rrubenstein@eduparents.org). Up to one hour of support is included at no cost. 

Thank you for helping teens plan ahead and build a healthy foundation for our next generation of families!

The post SPECIAL OFFER for North Carolina Teachers appeared first on Educate Tomorrow's Parents.

Meet us at the 2025 Quilt Show – March 14-15 at the NC State Fair Grounds in the Kerr Scott Building, Raleigh NC

The post Meet us at the 2025 Quilt Show appeared first on Educate Tomorrow's Parents.

This lifetime perspective and emphasis on equipping students with information and skills is already woven into the pedagogy of ETP’s curriculum Healthy Foundations for Future Families.

SHAPE America describes how a broader perspective has manifested in standards’ changes.

• Expanding from “health and health behaviors” to “health and well-being,” there is now a greater focus on mental health along with physical health. 
• The focus has also expanded beyond individual health to support the health and wellbeing of self and others. 
• In addition, some standards have been streamlined, moving away from lists of specific influences to allow teachers and students the flexibility to identify their relevant factors.

The Healthy Foundations curriculum aligns perfectly with these changes. 

• ETP’s lessons address issues central to mental health, such as life-planning, healthy relationships, human development, and self-actualization. 
• Helping teens anticipate a future child’s dependence on their care, ETP encourages teens to envision how their life-choices have repercussions for their future health and well-being and beyond themselves. 
• Drawing upon motivational interviewing techniques and human-centered design, ETP’s student workbooks give teens ample space to identify positive and adverse influences germane to their particular circumstances.

Here’s a handy list of the 2024 Health Education National Standards met by ETP’s curriculum, along with ETP’s alignment with Education Standards for Family and Consumer Sciences, Sex Education, and Common Core.

Source:

National Health Education Standards Educator Kit, Society of Health and Physical Educators, March 2024. www.shapeamerica.org/standards/health

The post ETP helps teachers meet new 2024 National Health Education Standards appeared first on Educate Tomorrow's Parents.

We are also in the business of Dream-Building – helping teens plan for a bright future and a healthy family.

ETP’s interactive high school curriculum is providing teens with science-based information and valuable life skills for their journey to adulthood and caring for a future family.

Teens are doing the early work now to one day become good Providers, Protectors, and Nurturers for our next generation of children.

This year we have added more instructional materials to our suite of lessons. New lessons include:

• Relationships for Family
• Timing and Health for Family
• Overview – Meeting a Child’s Needs.

ETP also published a free white paper this summer to help teachers who have constraints on the content they can include when teaching reproductive health. While local school districts are developing new guidelines, we’re able to offer our experience and ready-to-use curriculum.

It’s more important than ever for teens to be thoughtful about how and when they begin a family.

In 2022, we’ve expanded our reach from 41 teachers last year to 133 teachers now using our curriculum!

All the people who have engaged with us (donors, advocates, reviewers, teachers, students, parents) have enabled ETP to complete our 17th year in operation.

We make a great team! And we can do so much more.

Together we can equip more teachers, empower more teens, and protect more children.

The post Hope & Happiness appeared first on Educate Tomorrow's Parents.

What he finds in his mother’s lineage is a history of abuse and alcoholism that can be traced back FIVE generations. I was deeply moved by the documented stories of intergenerational trauma. So much pain and suffering replicated over and over again, for centuries!

On one hand, it is human nature that “We do what we know.” But it’s also human nature that “When we know better, we do better.” Zac’s determination to break his family’s abusive cycle is opening the door for him to learn more and move forward in a different way.

How this relates to ETP

Wow, does this story of “knowing better” resonate with ETP’s mission and with the students we serve!

A teacher in Kansas who recently used ETP’s lesson on relationships put it this way:

“I used this resource with my students to talk specifically about how to find healthy relationships. Several of my students come from disadvantaged homes and they don’t all get to see and experience healthy relationships. This was a great conversation starter and also a great way to review all of the talking points. … The students were all very engaged … I learned a lot about my students … nothing could be assumed. Lots of facts and lots of science, students couldn’t argue with this resource.”
Rating: 5/5 (extremely satisfied)

It is SO gratifying that ETP is providing students with this vital knowledge, enabling them to build better beginnings for their future family.

Progress

Like our students, ETP has also been moving forward in a different way.

Before 2020, we had a handful of trained instructors delivering programs in local schools. After Covid-19 closed schools, we created ready- to-use digital versions of our lessons so that many more teachers could access and implement them. And it’s working!

Now ETP’s curriculum is in the hands of 94 teachers:

• 84 teachers in 33 U.S. States
• 9 teachers in Canada
• and 1 in Ireland

We hope you feel SO proud!

Whether you are a client, donor, volunteer, staff member, student, colleague, voice of encouragement, or simply a follower of our work: you have helped in furthering ETP’s vibrant mission.

Together we’re moving forward … developing more educational materials, communicating with more teachers, and creating stronger foundations for future families.

I warmly thank you,
Randi

The post Moving forward in a different way appeared first on Educate Tomorrow's Parents.

As teachers of Health Education and of Family and Consumer Sciences courses, we are adept at “teaching on a tightrope” when it comes to educating teens about reproductive and family health. We walk that fine line between providing enough knowledge to help teens make informed choices, still encourage abstinence, while straddling the realities of teen sexual risk-taking. In recent years, birth rates for teens have dramatically decreased. We can thank sex education, availability of contraceptives, and changes in teen behavior for this improvement.

But now we face an urgent situation.  Seismic legal changes are underway that are likely to significantly restrict availability of many family planning services and some forms of contraception.  Regardless of anyone’s stance on these controversial issues, we can anticipate serious health and legal consequences.  Teens, who are by nature risk-takers and impulsive during this stage of life, will be at the greatest risk of experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and least equipped to cope with the consequences.

The legal landscape will be fluid for the next couple of years.  Lawmakers and judges at state and federal levels will be debating and creating new rules.  There will be appeals and reversals.  Effects will ripple through our health care system, our social norms, and ultimately high school education standards and policies.  There are a lot of important issues that have yet to be clarified!

So how do we guide students during this volatile time?  What changes should we consider making in our approach to teaching about reproductive and family health?

No doubt, students will have many questions, and it will be challenging to provide clear answers with so many diverse public opinions and legal matters in flux.  Although side-stepping is one approach, as teachers we don’t want to inadvertently suppress students’ natural curiosity and learning.  We certainly don’t want teens stumbling ill-informed into situations that could affect their life trajectory.

What needs to change in our teaching approach is to recognize that teens urgently need our guidance about why it’s important to responsibly handle romantic encounters and avoid an unplanned pregnancy.  Prior to discussing methods of pregnancy prevention (aligned with school policies for sex education), there needs to be an emphasis on understanding the big picture and identifying personal motives for postponing parenting until adulthood.  Motives before Methods. 

So let me take a moment to explain why motives are so important, before sharing our 7 Timely Tips. It’s related to a fascinating phenomenon of U.S. teen birth rates being several times higher than almost all other developed countries. Even with dramatic declines in teen birth rates, this disparity has persisted.

Researchers have long been curious why U.S. teen birth rates are higher than other developed countries.  Interestingly, they find the difference is not explained by levels of sexual activity, but rather U.S. teens use contraceptives less reliably  (UNICEF 2001, Guttmacher Institute 2002, 2014). Among many potential factors, two rise to the top: “[Most teen parents] say they did not know enough about either contraception or the demands and difficulties of childcare, and they wished they had waited before starting a family.” (UNICEF, 2001)

Now, with family planning resources becoming less accessible, it’s crucial our teens are motivated to take steps to prevent an unwanted pregnancy.  When one is unprepared to care for a child, it can lead to child maltreatment or sometimes the hard choice of releasing a child for adoption.  These situations can be heart-breaking for everyone involved.  Although some people note a “shortage of adoptable babies,” there are over 400,000 children in the U.S. foster care system whose parents are unable to provide adequate care.  Additionally, in 2019 alone, child abuse and neglect referrals were made to Child Protective Services involving 7.8 million children! (US DHHS 2021) Helping teens plan ahead for the parenting stage of life can motivate them to be proactive now and better prepared later.

At Educate Tomorrow’s Parents, we have developed some teaching strategies to help teens make informed and responsible choices about when and how they form a family. Our nonprofit has been conducting our Healthy Foundations for Future Families program in a variety of states, cities, and schools since 2005.  As a result, we’ve honed guidelines that keep the teens’ futures front of mind, and also comply with school district policies for reproductive health education.  These tips may be especially valuable now that some educational policies may be in the process of re-evaluation.

Focusing on preventing the circumstances that lead to unplanned pregnancy, we have found common ground across a spectrum of personal and philosophical opinions.  We use an approach that empowers students with scientific knowledge and vocabulary, helps them explore philosophical and legal perspectives, and ultimately guides a teen to align their actions with their life goals.

7 TIPS FOR INSTRUCTING ABOUT REPRODUCTIVE AND FAMILY HEALTH

1. Center the lesson within each teen’s hopes for a strong, healthy family. 

Create time and space for each student to envision their dream of family, respecting cultural and personal differences. This vision becomes their North Star, and a context for considering whether current behavior choices are on a path leading them towards or away from their goals.

2. Explore the responsibilities and resources needed to achieve their strong family. 

Build teens’ knowledge of the 24-7 responsibility, costs, and 18-year legal obligation to care for a child. Enhance their motivation to wait until adulthood by examining the challenges of teen parenting and guiding them to craft a plan for acquiring valuable life-skills and resources.

3. Provide scientific information about preconception health and prenatal development.

• We know that life is a continuum; life comes from life. Way before pregnancy, people’s bodies have the key ingredients (eggs and sperms) for creating future generations.  A person’s health habits prior to conception can affect their future child’s health.
• We know the stages of development after an egg is fertilized by sperm.
  You can use a commonly-used chart, like the one below, to describe the development process after conception:
  • from zygote (a single cell)
  • to blastocyst (a collection of cells)
  • to embryo (cell differentiation for organ structure)
  • to fetus (organ development, begins at 9-10 weeks of pregnancy)
  • ultimately to a newborn infant. 

Here’s a wonderful online resource from the Merck Manual Consumer Version that describes the developmental stages: “Stages of Development of the Fetus”.

You can also use the DVD video “In the Womb” from National Geographic which is available on Amazon.com.

4. Acknowledge the limits of scientific knowledge in defining “fetal personhood.” 

Making this distinction between facts and beliefs can help maintain neutrality on controversial topics. When students are exposed to diverse opinions, they can appreciate the complexity of our current affairs, and may have greater motivation to avoid unplanned pregnancy and all that may entail. 

• We aren’t able to scientifically identify when a fertilized egg becomes a “person.” That is a philosophical question and the answer depends on one’s perspective. 
• (If permitted) Encourage students to respectfully explore different ideas about when a fetus becomes a “person,” referencing different cultural, religious, and legal perspectives.  For example: Does “personhood” begin at conception as a zygote? or as an embryo before it has fully functioning organs? or when the fetus begins moving (around 4 to 6 months)? or when the fetus can be viable as a premature delivery (beginning around 24 weeks / 6 months)?  

5. Explain the boundaries of what you are able to cover in a class setting. 

If a question is outside the scope of the lesson, won’t fit in the time available, or not included in current course standards, you can share those constraints with your students. When they know why you can’t answer their question, they will feel respected and free to seek answers from other sources.

6. Emphasize the importance of planning ahead for the timing of a future family.

By helping teens realistically plan when, or even if, they could be ready for parenting, teen will become more motivated to learn and use methods of pregnancy prevention in their current romantic relationships.

7. Assist students in identifying common risk and protective factors related to unplanned pregnancy.

Example risk factors include impulsivity, substance abuse, unhealthy relationships, promiscuity, unaddressed mental health issues.  Protective factors would include healthy relationships, self-esteem, good communication, clear goals for the future.  Conclude by helping teens strategize how they can address their risk factors.

We recommend anticipating the more challenging questions and issues students might pose.  Students may ask for your personal opinion, or take an extreme stance, or be judgmental of classmates, or ask for help finding resources.  With some forethought, you can be ready when these issues come up. 

You can play a vital role in helping teens appreciate the risks of unplanned pregnancy and plan ahead so they can responsibly choose when and how to create a future family. 

Please feel free to email me if you have any comments or questions: rrubenstein@eduparents.org.  I’m always happy to assist with lesson-planning and tailoring programs to specific teachers’ needs.  I’ve also provided a link to our instructional resources below in case they would be helpful to you.

Warmly,
Randi S. Rubenstein, M.S. Public Health
Founder, Executive Director
Educate Tomorrow’s Parents, Raleigh, NC
www.eduparents.org

¹ “A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that often addresses issues and how to solve them. The term originated when government papers were coded by color to indicate distribution, with white designated for public access.”  Policy Papers and Policy Analysis

Educate Tomorrow’s Parents Curriculum – Healthy Foundations for Future Families

If you are looking for ready-to-use curriculum, take a peek at our store on TeachersPayTeachers.com.  Our materials delve into many planning and prevention topics for teens. They align with education standards for:

• Health Education
• Sex Education
• Family and Consumer Sciences
• Common Core

Each lesson includes a student lesson plan, slides, student workbook, and instructor guide.  

Sources cited:

Guttmacher Institute 2014.  American Teens’ Sexual and Reproductive Health.  Fact Sheet. New York, The Guttmacher Institute. https://www.guttmacher.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/pubs/FB-ATSRH.pdf 

Osterman MJK, Hamilton BE, Martin JA, Driscoll AK, Valenzuela CP. Births: Final data for 2020. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 70 no 17. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2022. Accessed online: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/nvsr70-17.pdf

UNICEF (2001). A league table of teenage births in rich nations. Innocenti Report Card. Florence Italy. https://www.un-ilibrary.org/content/books/9789210601320

United Nations. United Nations Demographic Yearbook 2020.  71^st issue. New York: 2021.  Table 10. https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/dyb/dybsets/2020.pdf – accessed April 2022

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau, 2021 – The AFCARS Report – Preliminary FY 2020 Estimates as of October 4, 2021 https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/afcarsreport28.pdf

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau, 2021 – Child Maltreatment 2019.  https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/research-data-technology/statistics-research/child-maltreatment .

The World Bank 2021.  Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19). The World Bank: Data.  United Nations Population Division, World Population Division.  https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.ADO.TFRT – accessed April 2022

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An Upstream Approach to Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences

Apr 5, 2018 11:00 AM EDT

Offered through Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina (PCA-NC)
Free to PCA-NC’s Prevention Network members:
Register here
If you are not yet a member of PCA-NC’s Prevention Network, you can join here.

Attend this webinar to learn how Educate Tomorrow’s Parents (ETP) has pioneered an upstream approach to preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

ETP’s innovative high school curriculum empowers teens to make healthier choices today, facilitating stronger beginnings for future children and families. The program also equips teens to break inter-generational cycles of abuse, poverty, and neglect.

After 10 years of successful implementation and instructing over 7,000 teens, ETP is eager to share their methods, findings, and hopes for the future.

During this webinar, you will:

• Learn how ETP’s program fills a critical gap in preventing ACEs – including an overview of the program design and topics.
• Find out about their remarkable successes in implementing the program and responses from teens and schools.
• Hear about ETP’s plans for the future and ways ETP can help other agencies and instructors implement their programs.

About our presenters:

Randi Rubenstein, MSPH is the founder and Executive Director of Educate Tomorrow’s Parents (ETP).

Lisheema Barr is Lead Instructor and Community Outreach Coordinator at Educate Tomorrow’s Parents.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Brought to you by GoToWebinar®
Webinars Made Easy®

If you experience any difficulties in registering for this webinar, please contact:

Anne Korfas
Training and Events Coordinator
Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina
919-256-6612

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Our new shorter name is: Educate Tomorrow’s Parents

Same goals. Same outstanding programs.
Easier to say. Easier to understand.

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Hard to believe we’ve reached our 10th year as a nonprofit organization! Reaching this milestone has only been possible because of the support we have received from you and other community supporters. And as a result, thousands of teens have had the opportunity to plan ahead for future parenting – one of life’s most important and challenging roles. We celebrate this major accomplishment with you!!

In the last few months, we have been taking large steps forward in realizing our longtime goal to make our curriculum available to educators and parents of teens everywhere.

Our first step was to reconsider our name, Education for Successful Parenting. Too many people were getting the misimpression we only educate people who are already pregnant or parenting. They didn’t think our program was for their teens. “You’re wrong,” is not a fun way to start a conversation with anyone. Especially when we have such a positive message about the many ways our programs help teens plan for bright futures.

We’re proud today to announce our new name: Educate Tomorrow’s Parents.

In addition, we’ve updated our website’s home page to tell our story in a clearer way. And we’ve formatted our instructional materials for easy use by new instructors.

We’re ready for our nationwide debut.

Fresh approach, expanded reach, and still dedicated to the same core values.

Together with you, we envision a world in which adverse childhood experiences such as abuse and neglect are eliminated, and all children can reach their full potential.

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