Choices Today, Options Tomorrow
Helping teens make healthy choices. Schedule a session today!
Choices Today, Options Tomorrow (CTOT) is an 8-session, abstinence-based curriculum for Indiana teens in grades 9-12. The goal of the curriculum is to equip youth with practical skills, knowledge, and confidence to stand up for healthy life choices in the areas of sexual activity and related risky behaviors. The curriculum was developed with the needs of our more conservative schools in mind and gives the opportunity to reduce the risk of teen pregnancy while holding to the values of your school district.
CTOT can be taught at Indiana schools and community groups. Sessions are taught by McMillen Health educators either in the classroom or through distance learning, which requires only classroom equipment and an internet connection.
We also provide pregnancy prevention for grades 6-8, called Promoting Health Among Teens.
Schedule a session today!
Shannon Gleason
Director of Educational Services
sgleason@mcmillenhealth.org
(260) 456-4511
OVERVIEW
For over 40 years, McMillen Health has been teaching youth about preventive health and giving them accurate information about how their bodies work. Our educators typically only have one 60- to 90-minute session with youth and are often frustrated at the lack of time they have to teach the skills, such as positive decision making, that prevent teen pregnancy. With funding from the Sexual Risk and Avoidance Education (SRAE) Grant from the Indiana Department of Health, we have been able to develop an expanded curriculum – CTOT – and can offer this education at our Indiana schools.
Adolescents in today’s world have a vast amount of information at their fingertips, but often have difficulty understanding how to discern what is accurate information and how the decisions they are making today will affect their future. The CTOT curriculum aims to provide factual information to students on the topics of pregnancy, STIs, HIV, and associated risky behaviors. This curriculum not only provides students with the facts they need to make wise choices but also facilitates the understanding that specific choices have certain consequences. Abstinence is emphasized as the only 100% effective way to prevent unplanned pregnancies and STIs, and the best way for students to achieve future goals. This curriculum is designed to be interactive, with the intention that students will view abstinence as a positive step towards achieving their future plans.