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

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

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.

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.

This program welcomes registrations from both individuals and teams. First-time registrants need to create a Professional Education account to register.

Individuals: Click the "Register" button at the top of this page to log into your Professional Education account and access the registration page. Proceed with the individual form until submission. Invoices will be immediately available upon the submission of the form.

Teams:

Step 1: Designate one participant or an administrative staff member as the Coordinator.

• The Coordinator should click the "Register" button at the top of this page to log into their Professional Education account and access the registration page.
• Proceed with the team form, including providing the name, email address, and job title of each participant in your team.
• The Coordinator can choose to receive a team invoice.
• The invoice will be immediately available upon the submission of the form. Contact us if you are eligible for the group discount. 
• Contact us if you need to make any changes to your team after submitting the form.

Step 2: Upon the submission of the team application, all team members will receive an email notification with a link to their personal registration form. Team members should complete their forms promptly to access the program’s Community Group for updates and Canvas course access.