Statewide Chair Mary McLellan Heritage Community Services Regional Chairs Mariscia Cooper (Pee Dee) Charlie Lybrand (Lowcountry) Lenna Neill (Upstate) Rev. Randy Riddle (Grand Strand) Dr. Roger Rollins (CSRA) Charlotte Valentine-Green (Ace Basin)   Advisory Council Eugene Bacote Darlington School District Dr. Vera Bailey Hilton Head Preg. Care Center Pamela Berry Colleton Fire and Rescue Dr. Vonda Calcutt Lowcountry Ctr. Diabetes Sen. Chip Campsen Charleston/Berkeley Rev. Chuck Coward Charleston Outreach Robin Crosby Colleton County Ligure Ellington Ret.Capt. Charleston City Police Dr. Randy Goings Chiropractic Physician Faye Hill Lowcountry Pregnancy Center & SC Association Pregnancy Care Centers WC Hoecke Fatherhood Practioner Leroy Lewis Upward Bound at Cof C Norman L. Moore, Jr. Colonel, USAFR(Ret) Cyndi Mosteller Comm. for Higher Education Alexia Newman Carolina Pregnancy Center Fred Payne Marriage Savers of Upstate Jerry & Barbara Seymour R& R Marriage Min. Ronald Shoupe Colleton County Dr. A. V. Strong A Better Way, Inc. (Gang Out) Dr. Robert Thomas Pulmonary Medicine Pastor Phil Thrailkill St. Luke UMC Hartsville Kelly Walker Upstate Fatherhood Coalition	April 15, 2011 SC Healthy Family Formation Coalition E-News! Do we really want to increase test scores and graduation rates? Then we need to stop fooling around teaching our teens how to enjoy so-called Safe Sex. Not only does Safe Sex spread diseases such as HPV and Genital Herpes, (even with condoms) any sexual activity can have a direct impact on academic achievement.     According to the following research, it is the sexual activity alone that seems to disrupt the lives of our youth.   Research from The Heritage Foundation entitled Teenage Sexual Abstinence and Academic Achievement (2005) reports that abstinence is a significant and independent predictor of academic success. The study, which did not include pregnant or parenting teens, shows that even sexually active teens using contraception do not fare as well academically as those that abstained.     Teens that abstain from all sexual activity have less emotional turmoil (DRAMA), fewer psychological distractions and are better able to focus on schoolwork. They also have common underlying personality and character traits such as impulse control, perseverance, resistance to peer pressure, respect for authority, and goals for the future.   This explains why abstinent teens are sixty-percent less likely to be expelled from school or to drop out of school. Plus, they are almost twice as likely to attend or graduate from college.   Clearly, the same life-skills required to successfully practice abstinence are needed to excel academically. Abstaining from all risky behaviors should be the primary message our children receive from their parents and teachers.     Teaching teens the benefits of abstaining from sexual activity is not only a positive health message - similar to avoiding tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and violence – it sets a high standard for everyone. Almost ninety-percent of teens agree that they should be taught to abstain from sex until they have at least finished high school!   The truth is - everyone is not ‘doing it’, the ‘horse is not out of the barn’, the ‘genie is not out of the bottle’, and our teens deserve better than stereotypical labels and clichés.   Data from the National Survey of Family Growth (2010, 2011) indicates that since 1996, more than 70% of 15-17 year old boys and girls have NEVER had sex. Even the 18-19 year old emancipated college-age teens are rethinking the “Friends with Benefits” Hook-Up Culture and abstaining at increased rates.   So, stop fooling around! Learn how to talk to your kids about abstinence. They are ready to listen.   Follow the SC-HFF Coalition on Twitter! Join the Heritage Keepers® Facebook Cause
	The South Carolina Healthy Family Formation Coalition (SC HFF Coalition) is organized and staffed by Heritage Community Services. The SC HFF Coalition promotes child and family well-being by providing opportunities for statewide communication about such issues as: adolescent pregnancy, unwed childbearing, fatherlessness, sexual exploitation of our youth, dating violence and domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, gang activity and youth violence.    Coalition members support healthy family formation initiatives that integrate character-based life skills, teen pregnancy prevention with an emphasis on abstinence-centered education, and the importance of fidelity-within-marriage.   Together we can impact our culture so that forming healthy families becomes a norm, rather than the exception, for South Carolina. Please, forward this E-News to interested friends, family and colleagues and ask them to consider joining the Coalition. Join/Subscribe Unsubscribe PRIVACY POLICY: Information you share will never be sold, rented, or given to any third party. Contact Mary McLellan , Statewide Chairman (843)654-7740 ext.122