In the Beaufort County Board of Education policy manual, a section of policy code No. 3540 reads: “As required by law and beginning in seventh grade, reproductive health and safety education will include age-appropriate instruction on sexual abstinence until marriage as the expected standard for school-age children, STDs, the human reproductive system, effective contraceptive methods for preventing pregnancy and awareness of sexual assault and sexual abuse.”

The curriculum appears to be working. In Beaufort County, the rate of teen pregnancies dropped by 23.8 percent from 2012 to 2013, while the state average dropped by 11 percent. Last year, teen pregnancies dropped to 39.6 per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19, just above the statewide average of 35.2 per 1,000 girls. Compare that to 2004, when there were 83.5 pregnancies per 1,000 girls of the same ages.

According to Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina, there is a changing face to teen pregnancy, driven by the shrinking number of pregnancies to minors (ages 15 to 17) — only 29 percent of the state’s teen pregnancies. It holds true for Beaufort County even more so: over 92 percent of teen pregnancies in the county were among girls ages 18 and 19.

“The face of teen pregnancy isn’t ‘16 and Pregnant,’” said APPCNC CEO Kay Phillips. “We have always focused on encouraging parents, schools and community groups to lay the groundwork for smart decision-making with age-appropriate, effective sex education. Now, we’re supplementing those strategies by helping people connect teens — especially older teens — with the most effective birth control methods as they reach the years when sexual activity is typical.”

While Beaufort County’s teen pregnancy rates may have dropped in the past decade and especially in the past year, unfortunately the county still has 35^th greatest number of pregnancies in the state.

Educators, parents, health professionals, have made great strides to curb adolescent pregnancy in Beaufort County. In this case, though many would prefer to keep the subject behind closed doors, there’s no such thing as too much education.