OWL Turns 25: How the Revolutionary Sex Ed Program Continues to Evolve

This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of OWL (Our Whole Lives), a set of comprehensive sexuality curricula for various age groups developed in 1999 by the Unitarian Universalist Association in partnership with the United Church of Christ.

In recognition of this milestone, the two denominations will be commemorating OWL’s anniversary at their respective annual gatherings—the UUA’s General Assembly and the UCC General Synod—as well as with additional celebrations throughout 2025.

The timing couldn’t be better—or more important.

Just 14 percent of middle schools and 38 percent of high schools in the United States teach all nineteen topics that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identify as essential to comprehensive sex ed, according to SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States), a national voice for sex education since 1964. And there was a 127.5 percent increase in anti-sex ed legislation between 2022 and the first half of 2023, SIECUS found.

“When we see the increasing number of states eliminating or severely cutting back on sexuality education or banning books and conversations about gender identity and sexual orientation, it’s important to have an outlet like OWL,” says Melanie Davis, OWL program manager at the UUA for the past fourteen years. “Sad to say, but this curriculum is needed now more than ever.” Davis works closely with her counterpart, Rev. Amy Johnson, the UCC’s minister for Sexuality Education & Justice, to administer and continue to evolve the curriculum.

OWL, which at the UUA is part of Lifespan Faith Engagement in Ministries and Faith Development, provides accurate, developmentally appropriate information about a range of topics, including relationships, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, sexual health, and cultural influences on sexuality. Although developed by two religious organizations, OWL contains no religious references or doctrine, and it is used not only in faith communities but in a wide variety of other places, including public, charter, and private schools; after-school programs; youth groups; homeschooling groups; colleges; and correctional facilities.

The curriculum can be used in any setting that supports the OWL values of self-worth, responsibility, sexual health, justice, and inclusivity. “Those values are woven throughout workshops in ways that resonate with children, youth, teens, and adults of myriad identities and lived experiences,” Davis says.

OWL ‘an Oasis of Accurate Information’

While OWL itself is secular, both the UUA and UCC offer optional faith materials for their congregations or other faith groups that want to use or adapt them. Both organizations recommend training for OWL facilitators to ensure comfort with the curriculum content, facilitation techniques, boundaries, and understanding participants’ developmental stages.

“OWL programs are an oasis of accurate information and safety for children, youth, and teens who are learning about their own values and sexuality as well as how others approach the same topics,” Davis says. “It builds understanding and communication among participants holding similar and differing identities, which is an important life skill.”

A primary goal is to support parents as the primary sexuality educators of their own children, Davis says. Before participants under the age of 18 enter OWL programs, facilitators in most non-school settings host an orientation meeting for their parents/guardians. In the younger grades, parents/guardians go through one orientation, children go through their own orientation, and then the two groups come together for a joint orientation. For grades 7 and above, there is a parent/guardian orientation without the youth or teens in attendance.

Parent/guardian buy-in is essential, says Davis, who holds a Ph.D. in sexuality education and was named 2022 Sexuality Educator of the Year by the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists. “OWL program orientations ensure parents and guardians can make informed decisions about enrolling their children, while supporting them in at-home conversations,” Davis says.

The OWL series includes curricula for people in seven age groups: grades K–1, 4–6, 7–9, 10–12, young adult, adult, and, as of 2019, OWL for Older Adults. The older adult segment was developed to address the specific questions and needs of mature adults, such as current dating norms, age-related mental and physical changes, and grandparents as sexuality educators.

“There’s a lot that needs to be talked about, where sexuality is concerned,” Davis says. “It’s not about whether you’re having sex or interested in sex or falling in love, or whether you’re 13 or 83. OWL does not make any assumptions about what people are doing with their bodies but rather helps them have information so the choices they make and the ways they feel about their bodies foster their well-being and happiness.”

OWL Makes Changes to Stay Relevant, Broaden Inclusiveness

Over the past two-and-a-half decades, OWL has grown and evolved to meet the times, so that the curriculum represents greater human diversity, is more accessible to people of differing abilities, and addresses more sociocultural issues. New resources have been added in recent years, as well. During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, when in-person programs went on hiatus, Johnson and Davis developed OWL Taking Flight, a monthly free webinar series, which continues to provide educational information to OWL facilitators and trainers, program coordinators, clergy, and others interested in sexuality-related topics. Speakers have included therapists, clergy, and researchers such as Dr. Debby Herbenick, author of Yes, Your Kid: What Parents Need to Know About Today’s Teens and Sex.

OWL recently added a video series for K–1 children, Under Your Wing (in Spanish, Bajo su ala) created by Dorian Solot and Marshall Miller, co-authors of the second edition of the K–1 curriculum. Under Your Wing, which includes conversation prompts and book recommendations, is designed to support parents/caregivers as the primary sexuality educators of children ages 5 to 7. It is available in English, in English with English subtitles, and in English with Spanish subtitles.

Davis and Johnson have begun working with UU and UCC military chaplains on an OWL adaptation tailored to the needs of service personnel. “The chaplains hope the curriculum will increase healthy relationships and decrease sexual violence. Amy and I are really excited to partner with them,” Davis says.

The UCC conducted a pilot program in Tanzania that combined Christian and Muslim faith materials with the OWL curriculum, as part of a UNESCO effort to help combat HIV and AIDS by teaching healthy sexuality and relationships. “I mention their UNESCO connection because it’s reflective of our approach to OWL outside of UU and UCC settings,” Davis says. “We are not missionaries for OWL—there are lots of good curricula out there for different countries and cultures—but when someone says, ‘We could use your help,’ we’re happy to make that happen.”

Davis credits the UUA’s and UCC’s partnership for the success and growth of OWL, especially in the past decade. “Both faith organizations are deeply committed to sexual justice and sexuality education,” she says. “Amy and I have the support of UUA and UCC leadership and the UUA Publications staff to think creatively and strategically. There is no end to the potential for this life-affirming, lifesaving program.”

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