Gender Spectrum would love to work with you and your school, district or organization and help you gain the skills and knowledge needed to respond to evolving understandings of gender.
Within Reach: PD Pathways to Gender Inclusive Schools
From an individual workshop on deepening understandings about gender, to applying this knowledge to your practice in our year-long intensive “training of trainers” Inclusive Schools Network, we offer a full range of trainings, consultations and resources for educators who are seeking help in creating gender inclusive schools. In all of our work, we honor the diversity of your community and pay particular attention to the specific needs of racial, ethnic and cultural communities.
Educators and education professionals can pursue training with Gender Spectrum through two main pathways. In both, we partner with you to implement our Framework for Gender-Inclusive Schools in a manner that is sensitive and responsive to the unique context of your community.
The two pathways are: "Foundations of Gender-Inclusive Schools...and beyond" and the Inclusive Schools Network. A description of each pathway follows.
"We are not able to take any inquiries through our website currently and apologize for this inconvenience. For all inquiries pertaining to Professional Development, including new training opportunities, information on our Institutes and updates on currently scheduled sessions, please send an email to [email protected]
Thank you and we will update you as we are able."
Foundations of Gender Inclusive Schools
Educators who are committed to creating school settings where every child’s gender is seen, understood, and respected can begin their work with our Foundations of Gender-Inclusive Schools training. This live, interactive online workshop will establish a deep and shared language for understanding gender’s complexity and provide concrete tools and resources to immediately apply them.
The training includes two components*:
Part 1: “Dimensions of Gender,” an engaging 75- to 90-minute interactive workshop to help you develop a core understanding of gender terminology and concepts and introduce the Framework for Gender-Inclusive Schools;
Part 2: “From Perspective to Practice,” a practical 60- to 75-minute training that builds on the concepts from the Dimensions training and provides an overview of strategies for implementing gender-inclusive approaches that you can immediately apply to your own practice.
Participants also receive the Gender Inclusive Schools Toolkit, a comprehensive set of resources for implementing inclusive practices in your community.
*Please note that the two components can be done in a single session or separately. We do not offer them as stand-alone trainings.
"We are not able to take any inquiries through our website currently and apologize for this inconvenience. For all inquiries pertaining to Professional Development, including new training opportunities, information on our Institutes and updates on currently scheduled sessions, please send an email to [email protected]
Thank you and we will update you as we are able."
Beyond Foundations...
With the Foundations training in place, educators can pursue a wide range of services and support to focus on the specific needs of your institution as described below:
Gender-Inclusive Leadership Training
This training is ideal for educators and other school staff who want to help lead gender-inclusive work in your community. The 1 ½ to 2 hour training will help you make the case for adopting gender-inclusive practices, create a professional development plan around gender inclusiveness, and empower you with a deep dive into tools and resources you may need to answer questions and overcome resistance.
Supporting Gender-Expansive Students
Educators and school staff who want to know the most up-to-date practices for supporting gender-expansive students can take this 90 minute training. Participants will understand the need for and use of gender support plans and gender communications plans, review the best practices for their implemention, and learn how to conduct gender support and communications meetings with students, parents, staff and administrators.
Educational Consultation
In addition to the trainings above, we offer various forms of consultation services. This can include coaching on a particular issue or concern you are facing, reviewing materials, communications or policies, or strategizing how to engage your community around this topic. As your thought partner, we can provide you with critical perspectives and approaches for grappling with the complex challenges that can arise in this work.
Consultation can also include curriculum and instructional planning. Applicable across all content areas and grade levels, curriculum consultations involve a guided process for setting student learning targets and build your capacity to lead colleagues to develop instructional approaches for reaching them. Gender Spectrum will also provide proven lesson plans and materials to help insure your success.
Inclusive Schools Network
Our Inclusive Schools Network (ISN) is an in-depth program for educators committed to creating a gender inclusive campus, the ISN is designed to build the capacity of educators to take ownership of and lead gender inclusion work in their own school communities. Beginning with a two-day in-person Inclusive Schools Institute, ISN members become part of a national network of colleagues dedicated to gender inclusive work and participate in follow-up online trainings, drop-in office hours, curricular materials and resources, and coaching and consultations.
Though there are common themes facing schools related to student gender diversity, in most cases the specific questions and challenges schools face may be local. Gender Spectrum provides the perspective of a national organization working with schools around the country; Inclusive Schools Network members bring the expertise of working in their own communities. It is this collaboration that provides the powerful foundation of a community grounded in promising practices and shared learning.
Inclusive Schools Institute
A two-day, regional Inclusive Schools Institute (ISI) initiates your participation in the ISN. providing you with the background you need to take leadership in creating a gender-inclusive school environment. Through hands-on activities, personal reflection, group discussions, and in-depth conversations, you will develop the competency and confidence needed to bring the work back to your school. Whether you are a classroom teacher, a site principal or district administrator, a guidance counselor or any other educator committed to the health and wellness of your students, the Institute will provide you with essential background to begin your work in creating gender-inclusive schools in your own unique context. Following the two-day training, you will be equipped to:
- Speak confidently about gender
- Describe a gender inclusive school
- Make the case for gender inclusion work in schools
- Train others in gender diversity and inclusion
- Support transgender and gender-expansive students
Year-Long Follow-Up Support
Following the Institute (ISI) training, we work together with you and other trainees in your region in a variety of ongoing, year-long ISN activities. These constitute a comprehensive platform of ongoing support that will deepen your confidence and capacity to pursue gender inclusiveness for all students. ISN members:
- Participate in exclusive online workshops throughout the year
- Have access to drop-in office hours with Gender Spectrum staff
- Have access to Gender Spectrum curricular materials and resources
- Can access one-on-one coaching on issues such as policy development, student transitions, parent education and curriculum development
Learn more on our Inclusive Schools Network page.
Who Benefits from Training with Gender Spectrum?
No matter the size, public, private or parochial, urban, suburban or rural, Gender Spectrum can partner with you to create conditions that will benefit every member of your school community. All school personnel benefit from our professional development offerings. Our work is valuable for any educational professional interested in and committed to creating gender-inclusive learning environments in schools.
Among those educational professionals and school staff who can benefit from our training are:
•State, Regional and District Administrators
•Principals/Heads of School
•Site-level Administrators
•School Counselors
•School Psychologists and Social Workers
•K –12 Classroom Teachers
•Early Childhood Educators
•Student Services professionals
•Teaching Specialists (Special Education, Physical Education, Art, Music, Foreign Languages,Reading Specialists)
•Paraprofessionals
•Professional Development Coaches
•Librarians
•School Nurses
•Curriculum, Improvement and Reform Coaches
•School Board Members and Trustees
•External Service Providers
•Professional associations and organizations
Learn More and Request a Training!
We host regular teleconference information sessions where you can learn more about our professional development services. These Training Q&A calls give us a chance to share information about our work and give you a chance to ask questions related to your specific needs. Click below to get the schedule and join a call. You can also contact us for more information at [email protected]
We maintain a strict level of privacy about our work with your group. Unless you wish to promote our collaboration, we will not publish nor discuss it publicly. All of our work together is done confidentially.
"We are not able to take any inquiries through our website currently and apologize for this inconvenience. For all inquiries pertaining to Professional Development, including new training opportunities, information on our Institutes and updates on currently scheduled sessions, please send an email to [email protected]
Thank you and we will update you as we are able."
Gender Inclusive Schools
The California Reducing Disparities Project
Gender Spectrum was recently awarded a five-year grant from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to conduct rigorous evaluation of our professional development programs. Learn more about our work to demonstrate the impact of our training.