Saturday, February 15th continued 10:00 – 11:15 a.m.
WORKSHOPS A CONTINUED A Suburban School District’s Journey to Creating Inclusive Schools Puyallup School District Location: Meeting Room 3 This workshop will highlight one suburban school district’s journey of creating an inclusive environment that values: • hearing from students, parents, and guardians; • hiring staff that reflects student demographics; • providing professional learning that focuses on equity and social justice; and • creating safe spaces for staff and students, “Safe Zones”. Attendees of this workshop will walk away with specific strategies and resources that address implicit and explicit bias, support marginalized groups of students/staff/families, and foster equity and social justice accountability of stakeholders. Vincent Pecchia, Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Leadership, Puyallup School District; Amanda Kraft, Director of Instructional Leadership, Professional Development, Puyallup School District; Lynn Goralski, Teacher, Puyallup School District
Monson Public Schools, Fort Plain Junior-Senior High School, Clemson University Location: Meeting Room 5 LGBTQ students in small and rural schools face huge challenges in their identity and coming out process, if that is even possible during the high school years. In this session learn how counselors and other educators can become more informed about the challenges faced by these students and how to best provide information, support and encouragement. We will also discuss how to support an LGBTQ student living in a community which is not supportive or willing to publicly acknowledge these populations. Robert Bardwell, Director of School Counseling, Monson High School and Executive Director, Massachusetts School Counselors Association; Rachel Toepfer, Student & President of Diversity Club, Monson High School; Kayla Mahoney, School Counselor, Fort Plain Junior-Senior High School; Amanda Dreisbach Rumsey, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, Department of Education and Human Development, College of Education, Clemson University
Because Splinching Kills: the Importance of Integration of LGBTQ+ and Religious Identities Phillips Exeter Academy Location: Meeting Room 10/11 Each of us can only thrive when we are fully seen and known in each of our identities. Religious and spiritual identity plays a key role in supporting the health and well being of our students, and in understanding their cultural context. It is also often the first to be abandoned or unseen in a school setting. Coming out as LGBTQ+ and Religious can be a challenging process. Learn about how to best support our youth in the full, wholistic, and healthy integration of these identities. Rev. Heidi Carrington Heath, Chaplain and Director of Religious and Spiritual Life, Phillips Exeter Academy
TIME TO THRIVE | 21
The Hidden Minority: Helping Closeted and/or Invisible LGBTQ Students in Small or Rural Schools