Speak Out Against Hate supports Welcoming Schools program
I am writing on behalf of Speak Out Against Hate’s Youth and School Officials Action Group in response to Brian Parks' letter titled "Cape anti-bullying program is Trojan horse," published March 18.
We were happy to hear that the Cape Henlopen School District has implemented the Welcoming Schools program aimed at creating inclusive and supportive schools by addressing topics such as gender inclusivity, LGBTQ+ representation, and preventing bias-based bullying.
HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools is the most comprehensive bias-based bullying prevention program in the nation. It provides LGBTQ+ and gender-inclusive professional development training, lesson plans, booklists and resources specifically designed for educators and youth-serving professionals. The program uses an intersectional, anti-racist lens dedicated to actionable policies and practices. It uplifts school communities with critical tools to embrace family diversity, create LGBTQ+ and gender-inclusive schools, prevent bias-based bullying, and support transgender and non-binary students.
The program Welcoming Schools is not designed to indoctrinate students but to educate and support school staff with guidance and a clear understanding of LGBTQ+ and transgender families to support those students who have questions and need a safe environment in which to ask for answers. Our children are living in a diverse world and deserve to have their inquiries validated honestly to be prepared to go out into the world as informed citizens.
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
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