Dr. Graciela Slesaransky-Poe, Associate Professor in Special Education, facilitated two workshops at the National Association of Schools Psychologists (NASP) Annual Convention on Feb. 15 in Seattle, Wash. The first workshop, “Is this the right school for my gender nonconforming son?” narrated the experiences of families in search of safe and welcoming schools for their gender expansive young children. In addition, it presented research findings on the experiences of LGBTQ students and families in K-12 settings, and provided concrete strategies on how to create safe, welcoming, inclusive, and affirming schools for gender and sexually diverse students, families, and educators.

The second workshop, “Creating Welcoming LGBT Inclusive Schools and Communities in P-5 Settings,” provided tools and resources to help schools take an anti-bias approach and inclusive approach for gender and sexually diverse students and families. In collaboration with Tracey Flynn, Slesaransky-Poe modeled activities from Welcoming Schools, a resource to help schools embrace family diversity, avoid gender stereotyping, and end name-calling. Lessons learned from the implementation of Welcoming Schools in multiple school districts was also shared.