Putnam County Schools revising its family life education curriculum to incorporate child trafficking prevention and awareness training for students across all grade levels.
Instructional Supervisor Bubba Winningham said the district is continuing to update its existing policies to align with Tennessee state standards and legal requirements. Winningham said the addition of human trafficking education will strengthen the current curriculum by addressing the specific risks students face in digital and social environments.
“I don’t want to say they go hand-in-hand,” Winningham said, “But you usually, when you look at those things in isolation, they have a lot to do with each other.”
Winningham said the instruction is tailored to be age-appropriate, focusing on how to stay safe, emotional management and kindness in elementary schools before moving into more complex topics in higher grades. Winningham said middle and high school students will receive specific training on social media boundaries, internet safety, and the warning signs of grooming.
“We’ll be working with Beth Herron at the Crisis Pregnancy Center, and making sure that we implement that piece about human trafficking,” Winningham said. “A lot of what we, what we already cover kind of goes hand-in-hand with, with the things leading up to human trafficking.”
Winningham said the district partners with the Crisis Pregnancy Center to deliver the Real Essentials curriculum, which includes several days of classroom instruction for eighth and 10th-grade students. Winningham said the program also involves internal staff like Sheila Barker and has previously included collaborations with Sheriff Farris and school resource officers to address social media dangers.
“We have protocols in place when that happens, that teachers know exactly what to do and who their contact needs to be and how that, you know, if that information is shared, our teachers are very good about, responding to that information quickly,” Winningham said. “They’re aware of what to do and what protocols to take once that information is shared.”
Winningham said the district maintains a transparent process by notifying parents of the curriculum and providing opportunities for them to opt their children out of the lessons. Winningham said very few parents have chosen to opt out of the program in the past.
“They send out parent notifications about these things and what’s going to be happening, and parents have a, a chance to make sure that they make the right decision with that,” Winningham said. “We’ve had very few parents opt out of this, which is a good thing.”
The school system will host a special meeting on Tuesday, September 1, where parents and community members can preview the instructional materials. Winningham said the preview session will run from 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m., followed by a formal meeting where representatives will be available to answer questions.
