Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Family life education refers to sex education as formally labeled through the code of Virginia. It is colloquially used by many public school districts, staff and families of young people in the state.

The Virginia Board of Education has approved the Family Life Education Board of Education Guidelines and Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools. Virginia's standards for family life education provide a comprehensive, sequential K-12 curriculum. They include age-appropriate instruction in family living and community relationships, abstinence education, the value of postponing sexual activity, the benefits of adoption as a positive choice in the event of an unwanted pregnancy, human sexuality and human reproduction.

Instruction is designed to promote parental involvement, foster positive self-concepts and provide mechanisms for coping with peer pressure and the stresses of modern living according to the students' developmental stages and abilities. Parents have the right to review the complete family life curricula, including all supplemental materials used in any family life education program.

The Guttmacher Institute defines Comprehensive Sex Education as seeking to  “ equip young people with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values they need to determine and enjoy their sexuality—physically and emotionally, individually and in relationships.”

Crowdsourcing is the process of having a group solve a problem and then sharing that solution widely with the public. The basic idea is that groups of people can work together to solve problems that individual experts cannot. Crowdsourcing tools, such as challenge contests, are increasingly used to improve public health.

An open call is one strategy that can be used to crowdsource information from a broad array of people. Open calls invite people to contribute creative ideas in response to a specific problem, followed by sharing and implementation of exceptional ideas that are contributed.

If you are interested in open calls and crowdsourcing as a strategy for solving public health problems, please check out these useful resources:

• Video: SESH (Social Entrepreneurship to Spur Health) on the benefits of crowdsourcing
• A systematic review of crowdsourcing in health and medical research (open access)
• A conceptual paper on the theory and applications of crowdsourcing in health and medical research (open access)
• A paper on crowdsourcing applications in public health (requires library access)

The contest is open to anyone! Entries can be from an individual, a group of people or an organization. We particularly welcome submissions from groups or families which involve cross-generational collaboration between school age youth, their parents/guardians, grandparents or other trusting adults. Learn more about the 2023 Open Call.

The Teen Health 360 Open Call is organized by an independent group of faculty, staff and students at EVMS and local schools, sex education and crowdsourcing experts and other local community members. Learn more about the Steering Committee. 

We believe in the power of the local community!

We welcome various forms of original submissions, including: Narratives - write a story or from experience (800 words max); Images - submit a picture, drawing, painting, photograph, or infographic; Audio or video - max 5 minutes; Mixed - combine storytelling, visuals, audio, or video

The submission should relate to the 2023 Open Call theme.

Make submissions through this online form. Learn about the requirements for submitting to the 2023 Open Call.

All submissions must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 31st, 2024.

A total of $2,500 in prizes will be awarded for exceptional winning submissions ($50 to $200).

The judging committee for the Teen Health 360 Open Call will include independent volunteer judges who represent diverse sub-populations including clinicians, researchers, teachers/faculty, middle and high school students, parents, and other community members. Learn more about the Judging Committee.

Yes! Please contribute as many submissions as you wish. Read more about the requirements for making a submission.

Yes, you will retain all intellectual property that is submitted. However, be aware that the point of this open call is to create open-access information sharing to generate program strategies and key messages for use in the Teen Health 360 program.

All personal information shared during this contest will be processed in accordance with the current General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules.

By submitting your entry to the contest, you agree to grant the organizers the right to use, display, publish, transmit, copy, edit, alter, store and re-format your entry and any accompanying materials.