Embedded Files
When not at home or out with their families, students spend much of their time in the classroom with their teachers and campus staff, and so they, too, are a group that needs special attention when it comes to better serving the LGBTQ+ community. They interact most directly with students, and should be prioritized as a target population to rally around and resource. By ensuring that teachers and staff are getting what they need in order to do their job to the best of their ability, it simultaneously improves students’ experience of their education. LGBTQ+ teachers and staff in particular are best positioned to support LGBTQ+ students and their families and should be centered in discussions around what needs to change in the workplace, and be given special attention when it comes to resourcing and providing direct supportive services.
One of the easiest ways to support LGBTQ+ teachers and staff is through visual symbols of support; by having inclusive pride flags and/or posters that depict LGBTQ+ people or topics (Know Your Rights & Legal Responsibilities flyers for employees, lists of local resources, etc.) in any and all rooms that teachers and staff use, including office spaces and break rooms. Going a step further, providing Know Your Rights-style training opportunities where staff are able to engage and ask questions to better understand their rights and protections at work may help ease feelings of tension and fear. Offering specific professional development training that details LGBTQ+ identity and the needs and rights of the community is another vital step in educating all staff members and ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
A person is in a virtual meeting on a laptop, surrounded by floating boxes with faces in them to indicate that two other people are on the call.
The biggest way to directly support LGBTQ+ teachers and staff as well as their allies is through creating an affinity or working group. Districts can incentivise these groups to flourish through funding and resource allocation, which can take some weight off of the many dedicated teachers who take up expenses for their classrooms and provide extra labor beyond working hours. In Castro Valley Unified School District, any of the teachers or staff from any of the schools are welcome to join the LGBTQ+ Working Group alongside other community stakeholders. Learn more about the LGBTQ+ Working Group in the Connecting with the Community section.
For some districts, especially larger ones, it may make more sense to have multiple working or affinity groups that are site-specific. Similar to LGBTQ+ family affinity groups, staff affinity groups may serve as a space to organize around specific issues in the community, work to change policy or advocate for specific protections or rights, or even just provide a regular place where people can come to vent or socialize with people who hold similar values and visions of equity.
Remember, it’s important to put in the work to perform research! If you are an ally, do not put it on queer or trans teachers and staff to take the lead all on their own or educate you, take it upon yourself to look through established resources and trusted educational materials, and show up in ways that provide real material support. The more work you put in to understand and serve the LGBTQ+ community, the more genuine it will come across and the more success you will yield through your efforts.
In order to better understand the needs of the community you serve, surveys are a great way to assess what is currently happening, what needs to happen, and what specific areas need further resourcing or support in order to make necessary pivots. In Castro Valley Unified School District, the LGBTQ+ Curriculum Inquiry Form was created by the LGBTQ+ Working Group to find out how teachers were currently including LGBTQ+ topics and representation within their curriculum, what resources teachers tend to utilize, and what the district could offer to better support them. Another notable survey that went out at Castro Valley High School was the CVHS LGBTQIA+ Students Survey, which was created in collaboration by the CVHS LGBTQ+ Club, Castro Valley Pride, and the CVHS Wellness Center. This anonymous survey investigated what LGBTQ+ students on campus wanted to learn more about and what services could be offered to better support them. These two surveys are offered below as templates/examples, and can be utilized by any school district in order to create their own.
Template/Example: Teacher Survey
LGBTQ+ Curriculum Inquiry Form
Description: Our site is reviewing the level of inclusivity of the LGBTQ+ community in current academic and social school culture. While we know this inclusivity is important from a humanitarian and equity perspective, it's also part of California Ed Code:
Ed Code Section 201:
(e) There is an urgent need to teach and inform pupils in the public schools about their rights, as guaranteed by the federal and state constitutions, in order to increase pupils' awareness and understanding of their rights and the rights of others, with the intention of promoting tolerance and sensitivity in public schools and in society as a means of responding to potential harassment and hate violence.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that each public school undertake educational activities to counter discriminatory incidents on school grounds and, within constitutional bounds, to minimize and eliminate a hostile environment on school grounds that impairs the access of pupils to equal educational opportunity.
Please take 10-15 minutes answering the following questions to help us better understand our current progress toward the goal of LGBTQ+ inclusivity. Be as honest as possible, these questions are meant to give us a cultural understanding of our school and practices, not evaluate teachers' dedication to their subjects and students' well-being.
Please complete this survey by March 21st. All entries are anonymous. Thank you for filling out this form.
Curriculum: What forms of your current curriculum represent people in the LGBTQ+ community?
Textbook
Articles
Long or short Films
Assignments
Guest Speakers
Assessments
Class Activities
Class Discussions
Artwork
Other (Write in)
Frequency/consistency: Based on your current curriculum and practices, about how often, on average, would you say LGBTQ+ people, identity, perspectives, history, laws or rights are embedded into classroom learning?
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Less than once per month
Never
Classroom environment: Which of the following exist in your classroom(s) that represent people in the LGBTQ+ community?
Posters/Photos of people in the LGBTQ+ history, music, politics, etc.
Books
Signage (rainbow flag, safe space, Trojan STAND, etc.)
Sculptures or decor
Classroom Materials
Classroom Website
Yourself (if comfortable disclosing)
Other (Write in)
Example: If applicable, regardless of subject, describe a lesson or multiple lessons you teach in your classes that is/are LGBTQ+ inclusive in some way:
Write in
How do you make your classroom a space safe and inclusive to LGBTQ+ students?
Write in
How do you make your interactions and communications with LGBTQ+ families safe and inclusive?
Visible environment
Verbal Affirmations
Classroom communications/messaging
Kindness/openness
Not Sure
Other (Write in)
Where as an educator do you feel you can go to in order to learn more about the LGBTQ+ community?
Other Staff members
Campus Organizations
Wellness Center Staff
CVUSD students and families
Online resources/organizations
Media - Books, Podcasts, Shows, Social Media
External training for educators
Not Sure
What support would you be interested in from the district/school community in order to learn more about LGBTQ+ inclusivity to better serve students?
Professional Development
LGBTQ+ Teacher Workgroup
Asynchronous Training Modules such as through Keenan
Community circle conversations/discussion
Affinity Groups
Book Club
Student Panel Discussion
Other (Write in)
Is there anything else you'd like to tell us regarding this topic?
Write in
Survey Results
The question is related to curriculum and reads: What forms of your current curriculum represent people in the LGBTQ+ community? There are 92 responses as follows: Textbook: 21 people (22.8%); Articles: 28 people (30.4%); Long or short Films: 24 people (26.1%); Assignments: 26 people (28.3%); Guest Speakers: 6 people (6.5%); Assessments: 14 people (15.2%); Class Activities: 27 people (29.3%); Class Discussions: 45 people (48.9%); Artwork: 33 people (35.9%); None: 5 people (5.4%)
The question is related to frequency/consistency: Based on your current curriculum and practices, about how often, on average, would you say LGBTQ+ people, identity, perspectives, history, laws or rights are embedded into classroom learning?. There are 92 responses as follows: Daily: 8.7%; Weekly: 16.3%; Monthly: 17.4%; Less than once per month: 42.4%; Never: 15.2%
The question is related to classroom environment: Which of the following exist in your classroom(s) that represent people in the LGBTQ+ community? There are 92 responses as follows: Posters/Photos of people in the LGBTQ+ history, music, politics, etc.: 40 people (43.5%); Books: 25 people (27.2%); Signage (rainbow flag, safe space, Trojan STAND, etc.): 82 people (89.1%); Sculptures or decor: 6 people (6.5%); Classroom Materials: 23 people (25%); Classroom Website: 9 people (9.8%); Yourself (if comfortable disclosing): 12 people (13%)
The question asks "Where as an educator do you feel you can go to in order to learn more about the LGBTQ+ community?" There are 92 responses as follows: Other Staff members: 52 people (56.5%); Campus Organizations: 27 people (29.3%); Wellness Center Staff: 38 people (41.3%); CVUSD students and families: 24 people (26.1%); Online resources/organizations: 68 people (73.9%); Media - Books, Podcasts, Shows, Social Media: 62 people (67.4%); External training for educators: 37 people (40.2%); Not Sure: 14 people (15.2%)
The question is "What support would you be interested in from the district/school community in order to learn more about LGBTQ+ inclusivity to better serve students?" There are 92 responses as follows: Professional Development: 48 people (52.2%); LGBTQ+ Teacher Workgroup: 22 people (23.9%); Asynchronous Training Modules such as through Keenan: 21 people (22.8%); Community circle conversations/discussion: 18 people (19.6%); Affinity Groups: 6 people (6.5%); Book Club: 19 people (20.7%); Student Panel Discussion: 36 people (39.1%); None: 3 people (3.3%)
Template/Example: Student Survey
CVHS LGBTQIA+ Students Survey
Description: This is an anonymous survey from a forming Queer Alliance between the CVHS LGBTQ+ Club, Castro Valley Pride, and the CVHS Wellness Center. This form is specifically for Queer or LGBTQ+ identified Students at CVHS; whether you are out or not, feel free to answer. We are trying to create a curriculum about the Queer community, make events for CVHS's Queer community, and make the school a better, safer, and more welcome place for everyone.
PAGE 1:
Do you identify as queer/LGBTQ+?
*Note: While you are appreciated, being an ally does not count as being in the LGBTQ+ community. Again, this form is anonymous, so feel free to select 'yes' whether you are out or not.
Yes
Questioning
No
PAGE 2:
Questions: You said you are part of the queer community! whether you are out or not sure what you identify as or not --- Welcome! Please answer these questions so we can gain insight about what the rest of the CVHS queer community wants/needs!
What aspects of the LGBTQ+ community do you identify with/as?
Write in
What are queer topics you want to learn about?
Sex Ed
Queer History
Different Identities
Resources for queer youth
Advocacy
Relationships
Coming Out
Queer Health
Other (Write in)
What are queer-related topics you think allies and other students at CVHS should be educated on?
struggles faced by the queer community
how to be an effective ally
toxic masculinity
Important celebrations- PRIDE, Nat'l Coming Out Day, Intersex Awareness, etc..
Other (Write in)
Would you be interested in attending safe queer movie nights or other fun events?
Yes
No
Maybe
Would you be interested in a queer support group in the Wellness Center?
Yes
No
Maybe
Are you part of the LGBTQ+ Club on campus?
Yes
No
No but I'd like more info please!
Do you want individual support with anything LGBTQ+ related from other queer students or staff? (not as part of group)
Yes; help from other queer student(s) please
Yes; help from queer staff please
No
If you said you want support, info, or would like someone to contact you, please enter:
Email address
Write in
First name
Write in
Pronouns
Write in
Page updated
Report abuse