upcoming
March 29, 2012
Safe Schools, Safe Communities: State Superintendent’s Conference on LGBT Youth
CONFERENCE DESCRIPTION
Please click here for the conference flier.
REGISTRATION
REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT HAS CLOSED AS OF 3/27/2012 - 3PM CST
PARKING
Parking for conference attendees is limited to the following: Student Union ($1.25/hr), Pavillion ($.85/hr), and Street Parking (metered and hourly - closely monitored and ticketed).
Th e most convenient parking on campus for visitors is the centrally located Student Union Garage. Enter the Union garage from East Kenwood Ave. is is a cashiered parking structure, that is, you pay as you exit for the time you are parked. Please note that parking in this location is limited. Plan ahead to provide ample time to find parking.
If the Student Union lot is full, ample space is usually easily available in the lower levels of the Pavilion. Distance to the Student Union from the Pavilion is a two to three and a half block walk depending upon route. Parking for visitors is usually most available to those who arrive between 8:00 and 9:00 am.
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
Acceptance Journeys
Kofi Short, Prevention Coordinator, Diverse and Resilient
Julie Rothwell, Portfolio Manager Health, United Way of Milwaukee
The purpose of this workshop is to combat oppression by helping individuals and organizations move from rejection and tolerance to acceptance and appreciation of LGBT people. This workshop highlights the impact of anti-gay and anti-transgender discrimination on the health and well-being of LGBT youth. Participants will be introduced to the Acceptance Journeys project and explore the stories of straight people in Milwaukee who have moved forward in their love and support of an LGBT person. Through a series of stories, assessment tools, and guidelines, participants will leave the workshop with the ability to move forward in their own journeys, as well as lead their organizations on a journey of acceptance.
Creating Safe Zones through Common Language
Brian J., Co-Director, GSAFE
What would you say If a student asked you, “How do you know if you’re gay?” How about, “Should I come out to my parents?” Or, “My family says homosexuality is a sin. What do you think?” In this workshop GSAFE Safe Zone trainers will use the collective knowledge of workshop participants to identify responses to these and other commonly asked questions by and about LGBTQ youth. Additional tips for creating visibility and safety - as well as responding to anti-LGBTQ comments - will also be shared. This is a modified version of a longer Safe Zone training offered to Wisconsin schools and districts.
Health Heroes: Shaping our Future Together
Anthony Harris, Program Coordinator, Diverse and Resilient
Rachel Federlin, Program Specialist II, Diverse and Resilient
Christopher Allen, Program Coordinator, Diverse and Resilient
LGBTQ youth face numerous health disparities yet often lack outlets to discuss them. Therefore it falls on LGBTQ youth to talk to each other and promote healthy behaviors in their own social groups. This fun, interactive workshop is designed to help LGBTQ youth and their friends understand and learn how to talk about healthy issues facing their community.
Homeless: How do you stay safe?
Amy Noble, School Social Worker, MMSD-TEP
Jani Koester, Resource Teacher, MMSD-TEP
Liz Lusk, LGBTQ Youth Resource, MMSD
It’s hard enough to stay in school. It’s harder when you don’t have a home. LGBTQ youth are more likely to become homeless than other at risk youth. Come learn how often this happens in Wisconsin and some of the alarming statistics about youth on the streets. Learn how to prepare ahead of time and how to stay as safe as possible if homelessness occurs. Take away a check list for safety planning and a resource list including information about educational rights under McKinney Vento and public benefits for Unaccompanied Youth.
Honey Badger Don’t Care About Gender!
Allie Eykholt, Madison West High School and GSAFE Student Planner
Dane Skaar, Madison East High School and GSAFE Student Planner
Emily Ptak-Pressman, Madison East High School and GSAFE Student Planner
We live in an extremely gendered world. Most folks aren’t aware of this or don’t realize the full impact it has on all of us. People who step outside of society’s gender boxes often face misunderstanding, harassment, and rejection. It’s time this changes. How can we personally challenge gender expectations, and how can we create safe schools and communities for gender non-conforming and transgender youth? This workshop will shift consciousness and rework the way we see gender.
Physical and Mental Health Disparities among Sexual Minority Youth in Wisconsin
Anneke Mohr, UW Population Health Service Fellow, UW-Madison and DHS-AIDS/HIV Program
Akbar Husain, UW Population Health Service Fellow, DHS Western Regional Office
Mari Gasiorowicz, Epidemiologist, DHS AIDS/HIV Program
We will present results from the combined 2007, 2009, and 2011 Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), focusing on health behaviors and conditions of sexual minority youth (youth who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual or who report same sex sexual behavior). Health disparities among sexual minority youth are especially pronounced in the areas of mental health, emotional support, physical safety, substance use, and reproductive and sexual health. Attendees will leave with data they can share with decision makers to advocate for early intervention and improved services to advance the physical, mental, and social health and safety of LGBTQ youth.
Promoting Healthy Relationships for LGBTQ Youth: Best and Promising Practices in Relationship Education
Abra Bankendorf Vigna, Youth Development Specialist, Youth Services of Southern Wisconsin
This session will explore when, how and why to talk to LGBT youth in particular about healthy relationships. Participants will leave with knowledge about the theory guiding relationship education as well as the most promising practices that have been investigated, to date. The session will end with opportunity to cross dialogue with others engaged in the practice of relationship education to allow participants to share their experience in managing this hot topic and exchange ideas on implementing relationship education in their own schools or community centers.
Proud Theater: Theater as Activism Workshop
Members of Proud Theater
The presenters will discuss the history of Proud Theater and how we function as a group. Our unique process allows the creation of theatrical pieces from the sharing of personal life stories in a small group setting. We will break into small work groups, share stories, improvise, edit and create a short theatrical piece. After the pieces are created, we will share them, and get feedback from the larger group. In conducting this workshop, the participants will learn the process that Proud Theater uses to create a safe place for our youth, and their stories.
Putting Our Colors in the Rainbow
Alix Shabazz, Youth Organizer, Freedom, Inc.
Shaquita Griffin, Director of Black Women and Black Youth Organizing, Freedom, Inc.
PLUS (People Like Us) is a queer youth of color organizing group based in Madison, WI. In this workshop we will be discussing the need for safe spaces for LGBTQ youth of color and youth of Color organizers. We also will discuss our technique in addressing the issues that Queer youth of color face daily and the ways we inspire the youth to take back power and create the world they want to live in.
Race and Class 101: Building Analysis
Z! Haukeness, Organizer, Groundwork
Kristen Petroshius, Co-Director of GSAFE, Organizer with Groundwork
Workshop participants will learn the basics of racism and classism and begin brainstorming the ways they play out in schools and effect LGBT youth. The goal of this session is for participants to gain concrete tools in recognizing racism and classism as they play out and developing practical solutions for intervening in racism and classism on the personal, interpersonal, and institutional levels.
Safe Schools for Our Youth: Family Voices
Laura Goetz, Wisconsin State Coordinator, PFLAG
As children come out at an earlier age, even the most accepting families face challenges in creating a safe school and community for our children. For too many of our children, attending school can be a frightening experience. Learn from a panel of parents of LGBTQ youth as we discuss ways to improve communication between schools and families. We’ll also discuss methods to engage supportive families as allies in your community.
Towards an Inclusive Curriculum: Transgender Education in the High School Classroom
Spencer Pforsich, English Teacher and GSA Co-Advisor, McFarland High School
Jeff Kunkle, English Teacher and GSA Co-Advisor, McFarland High School
Where does the “T” in LGBT fit into our schools and classrooms? Two high school GSA advisers share their experiences facilitating the creation of classroom instruction designed to foster understanding of and respect for transgender people. In this narrative-driven presentation, participants will examine the lack of transgender content in traditional classroom settings and discuss best practices about age appropriate interventions. Participants will workshop ideas about effective transgender curricula and how to anticipate administrative and community responses.
What Role Does Gender Play in the Classroom?
Melissa Tempel, Writer & First Grade Bilingual Teacher, “Rethinking Schools” magazine, Milwaukee Public Schools, Educator’s Network for Social Justice
In small groups participants will brainstorm what it might be like to be gender variant in the elementary classroom, then come up with situations that may be uncomfortable (e.g., going beyond the “girls line/boys line”, bathroom issues, etc.). Together participants will come up with solutions to how educators can be more sensitive to these issues in the classroom. Participants will identify how issues related to gender variance play out in different ways at different grade levels. Everyone will leave with a deeper understanding of how gender role expectations play out in school.
Who Isn’t in the Room? LGBTQ Youth Leadership and Social Justice
Jay Botsford, Community Outreach Coordinator, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin
In this workshop we will work together to rethink and restructure leadership opportunities for LGBTQ youth from an anti-oppression point of view. Attendees will start by determining who ISN’T i their rooms, and then learn strategies to identify the “why” and plan for the implementation of meaningfully inclusive safer places with equal access to leadership empowerment opportunities for ALL youth who identify as LGBTQ.
Additional Workshops will likely include:
• Organizing around immigration and LGBT youth issues, Voces de la Frontera
• Building school and community-wide support for middle school GSAs, McFarland Middle School staff and administration
• Building a better anti-bullying curriculum, Dorothy Espelage, Professor of Child Development and Associate Chair in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• A discussion about past, current, and future legislation to provide safe and supportive schools and communities for LGBT youth, Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton, Wisconsin State Representative Mark Pocan, Wisconsin State Representative David Clarenbach
