Introduction To protect young people and education personnel in the Caribbean Region from the HIV/AIDS epidemic and to promote their healthy development, three powerful movements in the education sector must come together: the model of the Health Promoting School (HPS) (WHO, 1998) or FRESH (Focusing Resources on Effective School Health) (UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO, & World Bank, 2000); the Caribbean tradition of Health and Family Life Education, dating back to the early eighties (CARICOM & UNICEF, 2001); and the Pan-Caribbean Partnership's Regional Strategic Framework for HIV/AIDS (2002-2006) (Pan-Caribbean Partnership, 2002; Kelly & Bain, 2003). The collaboration of these forces stands to exert the greatest influence, apply the most technical know-how, and leverage the best possible resources to combat the deadly disease and to offer Caribbean youth improved opportunities for better health and development. Most young people and teachers in the region enjoy good health, and there is a high level of school enrolment. A majority of young people report that they have not had sexual intercourse (65.9%), they do not use alcohol or other drugs (89.4%), and they get along with their teachers (96.4%). A Portrait of Adolescent Health in the Caribbean notes, the one-third who are sexually active, half report that sexual intercourse was forced and half of the boys and about ¼ of the girls say that their age of first intercourse was ten years old. Almost two-thirds had intercourse before the age of 13. Males were about three times more likely than females to have five or more sexual partners (Halcon, Beuhring, & Blum, 2000, p. 14). With these risk behaviours, practiced by a third of Caribbean youth who tend not to use condoms, HIV/AIDS poses a grave threat (World Bank, 2001). The region has the second-highest prevalence rate of HIV/AID S after sub-Saharan Africa, and the disease is present in the mainstream population. A World Bank study noted that self-reported heterosexual contact is now acknowledged as the main route of HIV transmission and accounts for approximately two-thirds of all AIDS cases in Caribbean countries. Of particular concern is the dramatic and constant increase of HIV/AIDS among Caribbean women, who also have one of the highest rates of cervical cancer in the world, which is related to sexually transmitted infections (PAHO, 2003). These patterns cry out for schools to reach children at early ages, and to provide programs and services for teachers and other education personnel. Since the epidemic began, the public health sector has dominated the response to HIV/AIDS, disseminating important information about how the disease is transmitted and behavioural change strategies for prevention and access to care. But these efforts can be strengthened by focusing even more on the human dimension of relationships and sexuality, as well as strategies to shape people's positive behaviour and skills early in the life cycle. The education sector, which plays a central role in the transmission of culture and customs, can and must play a significant role in protecting the health of young people and in the fight against HIV/AIDS-especially since research has repeatedly shown that reproductive health education does not lead to earlier or increased sexual activity among young people and can in fact reduce sexual risk behaviour (e.g., UNAIDS, 1997a; Kirby, 200Ia). The school as a setting needs to return to the invaluable role it played in the Caribbean immediately after World War II where it was the focal point for delivering very effective health promotion programmes (Kelly and Bain, 2003). The formal education system must once again move beyond a primary focus on academic achievement to embrace a broader mission that will preserve the health of students and education personnel as well as the survival of the education system itself-a major force in sustainable development for the Caribbean people. …