Supporting and Affirming Trans and Gender Expansive Students at School: Parent/Caregiver In-Person Event
Bias directed to our LGBTQ+ students is becoming more frequent and severe in school communities across the country. The current social and political climate in the United States continues to create unique challenges for our queer, transgender, nonbinary and gender-expansive students. Join us on Wednesday, March 5th from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm CST for this Parent/Caregiver Only event to explore best practices in supporting gender expansive students at school and responding to LGBTQ+ discrimination in school settings.
This 90-minute-interactive session will provide parents and caregivers with a framework for:
❖ using the reproducible resources from the Gender Inclusive Schools text to advocate for systems-wide changes for supporting gender-expansive students in your school community
❖ provide standardized responses to challenging questions about LGBTQ+ inclusive practices and proactive education about gender-expansive identities
❖ advocating for whole-staff and small group consultations and professional development
Training will be conducted in-person at the Twin Cities Pride Cultural Arts Center.
Address: 1201 Harmon Pl, Minneapolis, MN 55403
Registration is free but mandatory to protect the safety and privacy of attendees. Everyone registering must be a parent/caregiver of a gender-expansive school-aged child. Please reach out to info@genderinclusiveschools.org if you have any questions or concerns.
About the Facilitator:
Dave Edwards is a queer person and career educator who has served in almost every role in preK-12th grade school communities. After getting started as a paraprofessional in an Autism classroom in Saint Paul Public Schools, he went on to work as a special education teacher, middle/high school classroom teacher, special education coordinator, Dean of Students, and Assistant Head of School. From 2015-2018, Dave made the jump to higher education as lead instructor for the nontraditional teacher licensure program in Emotional Behavior Disorders at the University of MN Twin Cities. He was an undergraduate and graduate professor in the teacher preparation program at Hamline University from 2018 to 2020 before devoting his efforts full-time to Gender Inclusive Schools. Dave is the proud parent to a transgender daughter, and his family's experience with the discrimination she experienced in kindergarten directly informs his vocation of helping school communities create safe learning environments. Dave serves on the board of the Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition and his family is heavily involved with Transforming Families MN. Dave has been quoted in national publications such as the New York Times, The Advocate, Huffington Post, Rolling Stone, and NBC News. His book, Gender Inclusive Schools: How to Affirm and Support Gender-Expansive Students, was published in September of 2024.
*This is an educator-only event due to the specific content of the session. Only folks working full-time in school communities should attend and we will informally confirm employment following registration. We have a dedicated sessions for parents/caregivers on Wednesday, March 5th.
*Can't attend our session but want to bring a group training to your school community? Send an inquiry to info@genderinclusiveschools.org.
Bias directed to our LGBTQ+ students is becoming more frequent and severe in school communities across the country. The current social and political climate in the United States continues to create unique challenges for our queer, transgender, nonbinary and gender-expansive students. Join us on Wednesday, March 5th from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm CST for this Parent/Caregiver Only event to explore best practices in supporting gender expansive students at school and responding to LGBTQ+ discrimination in school settings.
This 90-minute-interactive session will provide parents and caregivers with a framework for:
❖ using the reproducible resources from the Gender Inclusive Schools text to advocate for systems-wide changes for supporting gender-expansive students in your school community
❖ provide standardized responses to challenging questions about LGBTQ+ inclusive practices and proactive education about gender-expansive identities
❖ advocating for whole-staff and small group consultations and professional development
Training will be conducted in-person at the Twin Cities Pride Cultural Arts Center.
Address: 1201 Harmon Pl, Minneapolis, MN 55403
Registration is free but mandatory to protect the safety and privacy of attendees. Everyone registering must be a parent/caregiver of a gender-expansive school-aged child. Please reach out to info@genderinclusiveschools.org if you have any questions or concerns.
About the Facilitator:
Dave Edwards is a queer person and career educator who has served in almost every role in preK-12th grade school communities. After getting started as a paraprofessional in an Autism classroom in Saint Paul Public Schools, he went on to work as a special education teacher, middle/high school classroom teacher, special education coordinator, Dean of Students, and Assistant Head of School. From 2015-2018, Dave made the jump to higher education as lead instructor for the nontraditional teacher licensure program in Emotional Behavior Disorders at the University of MN Twin Cities. He was an undergraduate and graduate professor in the teacher preparation program at Hamline University from 2018 to 2020 before devoting his efforts full-time to Gender Inclusive Schools. Dave is the proud parent to a transgender daughter, and his family's experience with the discrimination she experienced in kindergarten directly informs his vocation of helping school communities create safe learning environments. Dave serves on the board of the Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition and his family is heavily involved with Transforming Families MN. Dave has been quoted in national publications such as the New York Times, The Advocate, Huffington Post, Rolling Stone, and NBC News. His book, Gender Inclusive Schools: How to Affirm and Support Gender-Expansive Students, was published in September of 2024.
*This is an educator-only event due to the specific content of the session. Only folks working full-time in school communities should attend and we will informally confirm employment following registration. We have a dedicated sessions for parents/caregivers on Wednesday, March 5th.
*Can't attend our session but want to bring a group training to your school community? Send an inquiry to info@genderinclusiveschools.org.
