Connections Matter is a training designed to engage community members in building caring connections to:
- Improve resiliency,
- Prevent childhood trauma, and
- Understand how our interactions with others can support those who have experienced trauma.
The Sex Education Collaborative Training Hub lists trainings for sex educators, facilitators, and other professionals on best practices for sharing important information with clients and the public. From teaching anatomy inclusively to effectively addressing bias in the classroom to addressing racial justice and equity in sex education, the Training Hub includes trainings, technical assistance, and policy support from state, regional, and national leaders in the field of sex education.
Please note: The Training Hub includes both in-person and online professional trainings. If you see a training you are interested in and it isn’t listed as virtual, please reach out directly to any of our members to find out what's possible!
Connections Matter is a training designed to engage community members in building caring connections to:
Transitioning our work and school to a virtual setting has led to less engagement, but virtual spaces can promote connection as well. The human brain is wired for connection, and many are feeling disconnected from their jobs, school, and peers. Join us to discuss tips for preventing burnout and creating and promoting safety during screen time.
Far too often, masculine expectations lead those who identify as male to engage in harmful behaviors, including high risk sexual behaviors. Educators, youth workers, and other caring adults frequently see the negative impact of these expectations and struggle to reach male identified folks who are unwilling to seek out and utilize health care services and other support networks. In this workshop, participants will explore and attempt to understand harmful masculine expectations and will leave with strategies for challenging and countering these expectations with the goal of promoting more positive, uplifting expressions of masculinity. Registration link here.
Although expectant and parenting youth (EPY) express a need for sex education (contraception, healthy relationships, etc.), many programs are not adequately inclusive of EPY. This interactive training will help educators and service providers recognize the need for EPY inclusivity and support in pregnancy prevention programming and provide concrete strategies for implementation. We will discuss our experiences working with EPY from across the state and how their feedback helped us to develop a toolkit of strategies for adults working with EPY to ensure they’re being effective and affirming. We will also identify and demonstrate ways to alter our language choices related to young parents and interrupt common myths and stigma about teen parenthood, allowing EPY to better engage with the content in sex education programs. Finally, we will have a hands-on component where participants will analyze sample sex education curriculum and work in small groups to tailor the content to be more EPY-inclusive.
In this training, participants will:
Trauma-Responsive Practices in Sex Education will provide participants with information about the prevalence and impact of trauma on the brain and behavior, including the limitations of how trauma is assessed. Utilizing a trauma-responsive approach means that a program, organization, or system “realizes the widespread impact of trauma and understands potential paths for recovery; recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma in clients, families, staff, and others involved with the system; and responds by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices, and seeks to actively resist re-traumatization” (SAMHSA). This training will lead sex educators through content knowledge and applicable best-practices for taking a trauma-responsive approach within their classrooms and organizations, including the role trusted adults play in creating an environment conducive to resilience and healing. This training is intended for anyone implementing sexual health education with young people and the supervisors that support them.
Participants will be reminded of normal patterns of development during adolescence and discuss strategies for maintaining professionalism with adolescent students.
This training is designed for: