Welcoming Schools is a comprehensive approach that facilitates the creation of fully inclusive, respectful and supportive elementary school environments for all students and their families. Welcoming Schools is ideally implemented systemically with a clear starting point and the long-term goal of sustainable institutional change.
Objectives of the Welcoming Schools Approach:
- Improve school climate so that all students and families feel safe and welcome
- Increase family involvement Improve students’ academic achievement
- Teach respect and diversity that includes LGBT topics in the context of the full range of diversity in our schools
Welcoming Schools Reflects a Commitment to These Basic Premises:
- Elementary school students’ families are central to their understanding of who they are.
- All students should feel that they and their families are included and valued in their school community.
- Students learn more effectively when they see themselves (and therefore, their families) reflected in the curriculum.
- Including a range of family structures when families are discussed helps ensure that no child feels either left out or singled out and that all children feel welcome.
- Pressure to conform to gender roles can limit academic development.
- Name-calling and bullying have a negative impact on the social and academic development of all involved: targets, perpetrators and bystanders.
- Hurtful, bias-based name-calling and bullying occur in elementary schools, including words and actions which are anti-gay. Effective intervention requires both naming and understanding these biases.
- Research shows significant associations between students’ perception of teacher/school support and their academic performance.
The Welcoming Schools Guide focuses on three areas linked to academic learning, school climate and family involvement:
- Embracing Family Diversity
The guide outlines school and community-based strategies to welcome students from a variety of families, including families headed by LGBT parents, single parents, foster parents, grandparents, etc. - Avoiding Gender Stereotyping
Students who do not adhere to traditional gender roles are often targeted for harassment — even in early elementary school grades — and stereotypes can constrict children’s academic and social successes. The guide addresses ways in which children are pressured to conform to gender roles and stereotypes, and strategies for change. - Ending Bullying & Name-Calling
Hurtful teasing, name-calling and bullying affect everyone: targets, perpetrators and bystanders. The guide takes a systemic approach to school change, providing tools to engage all members of the school community through parent involvement, faculty education and classroom strategies.
How it All Started:
Development of the Welcoming Schools Guide was initiated by a group of educators and parents seeking to meet the needs of students whose families are often not reflected in school curricula. A broad range of educators and parents reviewed the guide extensively during its development, and provided other models of “welcoming schools” practices that exist in theirs and other schools. The result of this extensive writing process yielded one of the few resources for elementary schools that addresses the problems of anti-LGBT slurs, gender stereotyping and is inclusive of LGBT-headed families.
Ordering the Complete Welcoming Schools Guide:
The majority of content from the Welcoming Schools Guide is available for download from the pages within this site. The 93-page primer version of the Guide, An Introduction to Welcoming Schools, is also available for download here.
If you are interested in receiving a hard copy of the complete Welcoming Schools Guide, contact us and include your request for a copy of the Guide in the comments section. Please also provide an explanation of your interest in Welcoming Schools and intended use of the Guide. A member of the Welcoming Schools team will reach out to you for more information.
