Several promising practices came out of the recent HIV and STD-education survey.  Most centers provide STD education during the required times.  Many centers partner with outside organizations, such as Planned Parenthood and local health departments.  Residential advisors and counselors are often used in dormitories to provide HIV or STD education.

A few different and innovative ideas also came out of this survey.  While not every suggestion would work on every center, these ideas may spur some creativity at your center.

Peer educators get real.  Cassadaga JCC uses HIV-peer educators to teach new students about HIV and AIDS.  To become a peer educator, students volunteer to participate in a day-long training presented by AIDS Community Services.  The peer educators then present in pairs to new students.  The HWM says that the students take this responsibility very seriously.  Discussions tend to be candid since students feel more comfortable talking with someone their own age about sex and HIV.

Too embarrassed to ask?  At Delaware Valley JCC, a confidential “Ask the Nurse” box sits in the waiting room.  Students can drop questions into the box anonymously.  Answers are provided in the monthly newsletter.

A taste of reality.  Weber Basin JCC’s HWM teaches about the woes of teen parenting using real babies—Real Care Electric Babies.  Students voluntarily sign up to take care of a baby that cries in the middle of the night.  There is a waiting list to be involved in this class.

Who’s ready for the final exam?  At Angell JCC, students watch an STD video in their health education class during CPP.  After watching the video, each student comes up with five related questions, which become part of the final examination.  By doing this, students gauge what is important or interesting to them and have the chance to absorb the information while developing questions.

Girl Power!  Many centers offer reproductive health classes for females; some centers have incorporated classes for males.  By separating the genders, students sometimes feel more comfortable discussing reproductive-health issues and can have discussions focused around their unique needs.