Originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Aug. 10, 2019

High school health teachers get these kinds of questions all of the time:

“Weed is a plant, so it’s not dangerous, right?”

“What are periods even for?”

“Do all carbs make you fat?”

“Am I normal?”

I’ve always been surprised at the gaps in students’ basic knowledge about health. They often enter ninth grade with many questions about their bodies, their development and their feelings.

That’s why I am thrilled that the San Francisco Unified School District has a new initiative to make sure all students get to take a health-education class in middle school.

Middle schoolers need help understanding how their bodies are changing, how to navigate pressures around sexuality and substance use, and how to help friends who are struggling with mental health concerns.

As part of SFUSD’s Middle Grade Redesign Initiative, students will take a trimester of health in both seventh and eighth grade, along with art, computer science and world language. Importantly, these won’t be “elective” classes that only some students will get to take — they will be built into everyone’s schedules. The redesign is being piloted at two schools this fall and will eventually roll out at all San Francisco middle schools.

To get ready for this change, SFUSD has been providing lots of professional development and credential support to educators who want to teach middle school health. There’s now a whole cadre of caring teachers who are excited to make health education a rite of passage in middle school.

As these classes are implemented, I look forward to spending less time catching high schoolers up on basic information, and more time delving deeply into issues like planning healthy meals, practicing mindfulness and preventing sexual harassment.

Health education class will give middle school students in San Francisco a safe, caring place to talk about their concerns, find real answers and get support when they need it. Teachers may not be able to make all the drama and worries of middle school go away, but there’s a lot we do a lot to improve the experience and prepare our young people for healthy lives. I’m excited that San Francisco is taking this progressive step forward to meet the needs of our youth.