From Safe to Loving: Building Schools that Foster Individual and Collective Wellbeing for Gender & Sexual Minority Youth

Overview

Building inclusive and equitable school environments for LGBTQIA+ youth means more than providing spaces where they can feel safe. To help them fulfill their potential, we must create inclusive, nurturing learning environments that foster their social, emotional, and academic development. 

In this 4-week online program, we’ll explore the work of the LGBTQIA+ youth and communities who have reimagined schools in ways that foster healthy individual and collective well-being. We’ll learn how to create inclusive, supportive academic environments for LGBTQIA+ youth that improve outcomes for all students and educators. And we’ll create individual action plans for some immediate next steps.

We’ll start by looking at the role of gender and sexuality in shaping young people’s schooling experiences, opportunities, and outcomes. We’ll consider how schooling shapes notions of gender and sexuality. And we’ll draw from research on inclusive and equitable school communities to imagine a new set of structures, policies, and practices that better support individual and collective well-being.

Program Details

Over the course of the workshop, participants will explore research and best practices for supporting the academic, social, and emotional development of LGBTQIA+ youth and their peers. Topics include:

• Gender and sexuality identity development
• Understanding schools as sites of socialization for gender and sexuality
• Intersectionality, as related to gender and sexual identity
• Best practices for creating safe and inclusive schools
• Best practices for creating safe and inclusive classrooms
• Queer theory and anti-oppressive education strategies

Course Management

• 4-week online workshop
• Uses Canvas learning management system
• Asynchronous (self-paced) learning 
• Includes a suggested weekly schedule with two days per week for assignments due
• Completing assignments on the recommended schedule is not mandatory but allows participants to engage with and learn from the entire cohort 
• Participants will receive a certificate of completion worth 20 clock hours

Learning Goals

By the end of this course, participants should be able to:

• Describe the patterns and trends that characterize LGBTQIA+ students’ experiences in U.S.-based schools, both historically and today.
• Explain why caring about the social, emotional, and academic development of LGBTQIA+ youth is critical to the mission of schools.
• Define the ways in which schools contribute to the socialization of gender and sexuality for their students.
• Identify some of the ways in which their current school structures, policies, and practices impact LGBTQIA+ youth.
• Re-imagine their school structures, policies, and practices to better support the academic, social, and emotional well-being of their LGBTQIA+ students.
• Articulate how the individual well-being of LGBTQIA+ students is directly and reciprocally related to the collective well-being of a school community.
• Create an action plan for some immediate next steps.

Who Should Attend

This program is designed for a wide variety of educators, counselors, administrators, community partners, and public policymakers interested in exploring ways to establish inclusive and equitable learning environments for LGBTQIA+ youth. Participants may include:

• Educators (teachers, principals, and superintendents) working in K-12 public and private schools (urban, rural, suburban)
• School counselors working in K-12 public and private schools (urban, rural, suburban)
• Community-based practitioners and policymakers who seek to support more inclusive and equitable schools for LGBTQIA+ youth
• Educators, counselors, community-based practitioners, and policymakers who identify as LGBTQIA+ and seek to support their communities

The workshop institute is oriented toward assessment and action planning, both of which require multiple stakeholder involvement. We strongly encourage team registration with representation from a cross-section of stakeholders, including administrators, teachers, school counselors, community partners, parents, and/or youth. Individuals are also welcome to apply.

Fees and Policies

Full tuition is due by the indicated payment deadline, which you may find above or on the program’s community page. While a purchase order confirms enrollment, full payment is still required by the payment deadline. Please note that failure to pay by the payment deadline will result in your withdrawal from the program. Click here for more information on payment, refund, and withdrawal policies.

Tuition includes all instructional materials required for participation in the program. The Harvard Graduate School of Education reserves the right to change faculty or cancel programs at its discretion. The school is not responsible for any planning expenses incurred.