SPRINGFIELD, Ore. — A Springfield elementary school teacher is on administrative leave after showing a 1st-Grade class a sexual education video.
The video, titled “Help kids learn why it’s important to keep private parts private” was shown to first grade students at Mount Vernon Elementary. While the video is animated in a more child centric way, the video ends with discussing touching ones privates, and the act of which feeling good.
Springfield Public Schools confirmed that the teacher who showed the video is now on leave.
Parents received an email from the district’s Elementary Level Director Joyce Smith-Johnson saying, in part,
Last week I learned that your student watched a health-related video that was not age appropriate, nor District approved.
To ensure you have accurate information, the video shown in class highlighted specific parts of human anatomy and shared that sometimes people will touch themselves in private. This content should have never been shared in your child’s classroom. I’m sorry your student viewed this video.
Our station reached out to the school district and asked what is the requirement/process for sharing video content with children and is it required that the content is district-approved? According to the district teachers are expected to utilize District-approved, age-appropriate instructional materials/curriculum when providing instruction to students and that teachers mayuse special aids with the express approval of the principal.
Springfield Public Schools has confirmed that they are investigating this incident.