Heritage Keepers Abstinence Education I          (grades 6-12)
Heritage Keepers Abstinence Education II         (grades 9-12)

The curricula were developed to equip and empower adolescents to abstain from sexual activity outside of marriage. They can be effectively implemented as stand alone programs, or used as part of a more systemic process model with additional school and community-based components.

The goal of the Heritage Keepers Abstinence Education program is to reduce the number of teens initiating sexual activity and increase the number of sexually active teens returning to abstinence. Heritage uses theoretical models and various methodologies in program implementation. The Heritage Keepers Abstinence Education program encourages teens to develop a strong sense of personal identity and worth, set protective boundaries, resist negative peer pressure, determine and protect personal values and goals, and set high standards for themselves. A significant amount of the curriculum focuses on reproduction and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), specifically discussing STD symptoms, treatments/cures, and prevention (all with information provided by the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and approved for medical accuracy). Condom efficacy is also explained in relation to each STD.

Heritage Keepers educators are trained to address the varying levels of sexual experience among teens including sensitivity to those who may have been sexually assaulted or abused. This holistic curriculum has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from students who have gone through the course, with post program interviews indicating that more than 90% of participating students strongly liked the program and instructor and would recommend it to a friend.

The Heritage Keepers curriculum has been approved by the Medical Institute for Sexual Health and the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Population Affairs, for medical accuracy and scientific referencing. Heritage ensures that the curriculum is research-based with over 80 references from widely accepted social science research to support curriculum information. The Heritage Keepers curricula have long been approved by ASCEND (previously the National Abstinence Education Association), and before that, by the National Abstinence Clearinghouse for adherence to federal  legislative requirements for abstinence education (sexual risk avoidance education) as set forth in Section 510(b) of Title V of the Social Security Act. The Heritage Keepers program also meets all 66 standards of the CDC-funded SMARTool (Systematic Method for Assessing Risk-avoidance Tool).

To learn more about topics covered in each of the Abstinence Education curricula, contact Heritage Community Services at heritage@heritageservices.org or 843-654-7740 x 120.

See Testimonials about the Heritage Keepers program.

See this Frequently Asked Questions document for more information about the Heritage Keepers program.