Resources
A new short professional development film for educators and parents. Use this film to get the conversation started in your school about the need for interrupting hurtful teasing and ways to develop a welcoming school for all children and their families.
To develop a more welcoming elementary school environment one of the first places to start is with the adults in the community. Get some practice responding to students’ questions on gay and lesbian topics. Develop more confidence to respond to hurtful comments such as, “That’s So Gay!” Need some help with professional development to build these skills, contact our regional Welcoming Schools trainers.
Check out our short annotated book lists highlighting all kinds of families, books that are inclusive of gay family members and characters, books that help students look at gender and books on hurtful teasing, name-calling and bullying. There are also more extensive lists of good books on family, gender roles, gender identity and bullying.
Look at some of the lesson plans available from Welcoming Schools on embracing family diversity, avoiding gender stereotyping and ending bullying and name-calling
Need some help explaining the importance of safe schools for students, why schools should specifically address bias-based bullying including LGBT put downs, or why talking about diverse families is important to children.
“Is this an initiative that will make a positive difference in our school or district?” Take a look at a video which explains strategies that you can use to evaluate the use of Welcoming Schools.
See how Welcoming Schools links to academic standards. Look into federal and state laws and resolutions from national educational and health organizations that support safe schools work.
Looking for some facts to back you up on the need or importance of inclusive schools. Or, check out some research on stereotypes, prejudice and children.
Have some fun. Take a short quiz on famous LGBT people or check out a list of LGBT people who may be known to elementary age students or who have had careers that may be of interest to students.
