The Lancaster School District Education Conference 2025

Professional Development Programming

Lex facilitated 3 sessions for The Lancaster School District’s Education Conference on March 24th, 2025, and tabled to provide LGBTQIA+ resources.

Session 1, “Creating Affirming Spaces” & Session 2, “Allyship in Action”

We all have the responsibility to address transphobia and homophobia, but how can we do this in an effective and impactful way? In this session, participants will gain the knowledge and the tangible tools and strategies needed to best support LGBTQIA+ students and educators, including how to address transphobia and homophobia in the school setting, in addition to engaging in inclusion strategies for our classrooms and discussing opportunities for advocacy.

Session Goals include:

  1. Identify and understand systems of oppression – transphobia, cisnormativity, and cissexism (gender based) and homophobia and heteronormativity (sexuality based)

  2. Understand and identify unique microaggressions experienced by queer, non-binary and trans people

  3. Leave with tangible tools and best practices to utilize as an effective ally in action to queer, non-binary and trans people and/or for self-advocacy

Content Areas Can Include:

  • Break down of gender by separately addressing
    a. Gender identity
    b. Gender expression
    c. Sex designated at birth / affirming sex

  • Break down of sexuality by separately addressing
    a. Attraction (emotional, romantic, and physical)
    b. LGB+ acronym

  • Defining cisgender and transgender

  • Defining gender roles and stereotypes and gender attribution

  • Defining transphobia, cisnormativity, cissexism, cisprivilege, and heteronormativity

  • Understanding microaggressions that uniquely impact queer, non-binary and transgender individuals

  • Responding to anti-LGBTQIA+ behavior

  • Implementing inclusion strategies

Objectives/Goals Can Include:

  • Identify and understand the core terms and concepts related to gender and sexuality

  • Understand assumptions, interactions and barriers that impact the experience of LGBTQIA+ people

  • Move past assumptions

  • Leave with tangible tools and best practices to utilize as an effective ally in action to queer, non-binary and trans people and/or for self-advocacy

  • Identify and understand systems of oppression – transphobia, cisnormativity, cissexism, and heteronormativity

  • Understand and identify unique microaggressions experienced by queer, non-binary and transgender people

  • Leave with tangible tools and best practices to utilize as an effective ally in action to queer, non-binary and trans people and/or for self-advocacy

  • Sharing experiences and how to utilize advocacy tools to be proactive and/or reactive (scenarios practice)

Takeaways Can Include:

  • Gain an inclusive and affirming understanding of gender and sexuality

  • Critically think about areas of improvement to better support queer, non-binary and trans people

  • Leave with next steps and tangible tools to put best practices into action

  • Best practices on how to ensure that everyone is proactively and intentionally cultivating an inclusive, affirming, and safe environment where queer, non-binary, transgender, and gender expansive people are affirmed, welcomed and thriving.

This event is closed to the public. This programming is professional development for school district educators.

 
 
 
 
 

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