With a multitude of cultures arriving on campus, upper school counselor Allison Holst realized that discussion of relationships in a shared culture was evident. The Healthy Relationships iPeriod was created, which was required for all new students in grades ten through twelve during the first seven weeks of school.

“The Healthy Relationships iPeriod came about this year because we realized that not all students have the ability to take the Safe Dates program here at Darlington,” Holst said. “It’s important to us that everybody is on an equal playing field in regards to the health of as well as the types of relationships that go on in everyday high school life.”

Safe Dates focuses on preventing dating abuse, and it is part of the curriculum in the freshmen’s required health classes.

“Safe Dates is a program that comes into the ninth grade guys’ and girls’ health classes towards the end of the first semester,” Holst said. “It covers a lot having to do with toxic relationships, controlling relationships and relationships that feel unequal that could lead to some sort of abuse later on, so it shows you the red flags.”

Healthy Relationships covers a variety of topics that educate students on what a healthy relationship looks like compared to a toxic one. The iPeriod also discusses the legal aspects of dating, such as the age of consent.

“We cover the health-related aspects. We do have the sexual assault center come in and talk about safe dates for an abridged version,” Holst said. “Just dating etiquette and why, in this type of culture in the U.S., we are utilizing our cell phones for much of our dating and dating advice at this point in time.

The iPeriod also aims to educate international students from different cultures on what a healthy relationship looks like in the United States.

“We are covering culture because many of the students are international students, and culture such as dating culture here in the U.S. and here at Darlington can be perceived differently for someone coming from another country,” Holst said.