High school teachers received a full day of training on LGBT+ Equity and Inclusion at North Stafford.
- “Stafford County has a focus on equity and a holistic learning environment where all students can thrive,” Director of Equity and Accountability Roxana McCarthy said.
- Middle school and elementary school teachers received a similar training on Nov. 5.
The training was designed to help teachers understand LGBT students, and be better equipped to address bullying problems.
- The school division has not reported an uptick in cases of bullying.
- The day was split into two parts: LGBT+ Equity and Mental Health Awareness.
The purpose of the LGBT+ Equity presentation was to define basic terminology to create a common language for teachers to help them work with LGBT+ students.
- Teachers were given guidelines and suggestions for how to address bullying in the classroom, from outright harassment to mere side comments.
- Potential mental health concerns, trauma awareness, and common language were all also focuses of a Mental Health Awareness section of the training.
Similar LGBT+ training was held for administrators over the summer.
- “We had a couple of trainings that we did for senior leadership that we did starting in the summer before the non-discrimination policy was passed,” McCarthy said.
The Office of Equity and Accountability designed and implemented the training.
- The office was formed this past summer by Superintendent Scott Kizner.
- It came after a needs assessment found that there were gaps in student achievement and discipline.
- “The main goal of the Office of Equity is to look at academic achievement in our students to try and figure out why there are various academic achievements that different populations are doing,” McCarthy said. “We train the staff on how best to serve our students.”
Photo: The second group of teachers listens to a presentation by Side by Side, a LGBT+ community support organization.
