Grades 3-5

Many supportive educators and school staff are asked to be Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) advisors, but don’t know where to start. GSAs (also known as gender and sexuality alliances, queer straight alliances, and other names) are student-driven clubs for LGBTQ+ students and allies. They play a huge role in making schools more safe and supportive.

Since the start of the "Me Too" movement, more teachers are looking for ways to incorporate consent into sex education. This training will help participants recognize language changes and immediate shifts they can make in existing content and identify various tools, resources, materials, and activities that could be used in classroom related to consent. The training will also review best practices and key messages for teaching consent; particularly being intentional about students at different developmental levels. 

We never know what traumas someone has experienced or what could trigger a trauma response for someone. As more and more research has come to show that many young people are experiencing high levels of trauma, it's essential that we work to create safer spaces for young people in schools. This includes ensuring that sex education will not become a re-traumatizing experience for survivors.This training will cover the basics of trauma, small “t” vs. big “T” trauma, and how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can play a part in sex education.

Although expectant and parenting youth (EPY) express a need for sex education (contraception, healthy relationships, etc.), many programs are not adequately inclusive of EPY.

Puberty - a time of great, and sometimes daunting, change for both young people and the adults in their lives. This interactive, full-day training will provide educators, school nurses, youth-serving professionals, and other caring adults with skills and strategies for teaching pubescent youth about their changing bodies, emotional growth, and navigating the path to adulthood in a way that is inclusive of students of all genders and sexual identities.

The Sexuality Education Cornerstone Seminar (SECS) is our most popular training opportunity for foundational information about sexuality education. SECS is designed for educators, youth-serving professionals, and individuals interested in entering sexuality education and are seeking a basic foundation of knowledge in sexuality and sexual health information that they can share with their populations.

Advocates for Youth is delighted to offer half-day, full day and multi-day training - both in-person and virtually - to support teachers and community-based educators to develop the comfort, knowledge and core skills needed to implement sexuality education effectively.

Puberty is a time of physical, emotional, and social changes that can cause some young people great angst. Equipping students with the knowledge and skills about these changes can help them navigate through this challenging time and emerge strong, happy, and healthy. This workshop will provide you with a number of lessons to teach students about the changes of puberty, and will help you improve your skills on addressing this sensitive topic in an inclusive way. This workshop can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your group, school, or agency.

This interactive workshop will allow participants to increase their comfort and knowledge about age-appropriate sexual development in young children and learn the skills they need to effectively implement lesson plans in their districts. The importance of partnering with parents and school administrators to build support for family life education for young children will be addressed. This workshop can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your group, school or agency.