First Parish Policy on Allowing Participation of Non-UU
Youth in OWL
The Our Whole Lives (OWL) Program is both a
sexuality education program and a faith- and values-based
decision-making program. Therefore, First Parish has developed
the following guidelines to allow non-Unitarian Universalist
youth to participate in OWL.
Criteria that Must Be Met for a Non-UU Youth
to Enter the OWL Program
- Non-UU youth must meet the same base
requirements as First Parish youth.
- There must be enough room in the program
after all the First Parish youth who are interested and
eligible have been given a place in the class. Class size
will not exceed 10-15 students.
- The number of non-UU youth should not
significantly alter the gender balance of boy-identified
and girl-identified participants.
- Participants will be in the 7th
to 9th grades at school.
Recommended Process for Admission of Non-UU
OWL Participants
- Two permission slips need to be signed
- A standard permission slip signed by
every family after attending the required parent
orientation.
- A special permission slip stating that
they, the parents, have reviewed the tenets of the
OWL Program as listed in "What Does Our Whole
Lives Teach About…" from the UUA website,
as well as the UU Principles. This will be mailed out
for review with the cover letter.
- There will be an interview between the
parents and the DRE and/or the minister to review the
mailed permission slip and respond to any questions or
concerns. A decision will be made by the DRE and/or
minister at this point as to whether the family should
continue the application process.
- Parents must attend the OWL parent
orientation and the mid-year parent check-in meeting.
- OWL materials will be made available for
parental review.
- Non-UU participants will be charged the
average cost of the program ($150).
Requirements
- The parents are required to attend one or
more of our UU services to become more familiar with our
church and beliefs.
- A REY committee member or some other
appropriate peer will mentor the parents of the non-UU
participant.
First Parish, in consultation with the Minister
and DRE, reserves the right to discontinue this agreement.
This policy was developed by members of REY
Modified and adopted by the RE Committee, 9/20/05
Modified and adopted by the Standing Committee, 9/20/05
Respectfully submitted by Peggy Stephens-North, SC Secretary