Advocates staff provides technical assistance, training and resources to national, state, and local organizations regarding youth-centered reproductive and sexual health/rights/justice public policy and communications. Policy staff draft model legislation and policy briefs, track and provide in-depth policy analysis, and can support partners in building out advocacy strategies to improve policies and practices at the federal, state, and local levels. In addition, communications staff can assist with talking points, public speaking training, and training regarding media outreach. Staff is also available to assist organizations wishing to raise the visibility of young people and their experiences and needs through social or traditional media. For more information about public policy assistance contact Diana@advocatesforyouth.org. For more information about communications assistance contact Emily@advocatesforyouth.org
Training Hub
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!
Trainings Offered by State-Based and National Organizations
Displaying results 101 - 105 of 154Advocates for Youth can offer technical assistance on a wide range of topics including district, state, and national policy, best practices in teaching sexuality education, creating more LGBTQ+ inculsive schools and organizations, increasing the capacity of health care providers to meet the sexual health needs of adolescents, youth-adult partnership models, writing curricula, and/or discrete lesson plans, etc. Please contact us so we can learn more about your needs and how we can best support your efforts.
Personal Safety: Knowing Signs and Drawing Lines
Personal Safety: Knowing Signs and Drawing Lines will help increase middle and high school health professionals’ knowledge of various forms of interpersonal violence that young people often face, as well as provide concrete actions that educators and professionals can take to respond.
Format/platform:
- Online Learning Management System (Canvas e-learning), hosted by Rutgers University
- Six-hours of total contact time utilizing videos, podcasts, instructional games, discussion boards, written assignments, presentations, readings, and visual animations
- Asynchronous
- Instructor-led
All content is aligned to the National Sexuality Education Standards, the National Teacher Preparation Standards for Sexuality Education, the Professional Learning Standards for Sex Education, and the Areas of Responsibility and Competencies for Health Education Specialists.
- Indicator 2 (K-12): Demonstrate three student-centered instructional approaches that support a variety of learning styles. (S)
Managing Sensitive Issues: Effectively Responding to Controversy
Educators and others who work with youth often feel anxious about addressing sensitive issues—such as topics associated with strong personal values—in the classroom, whether they are part of a curriculum or surface in a general class discussion. Sexuality, alcohol and other drugs, politics, race, and bullying are just a few examples of issues that, if not handled sensitively, could result in alienated students or angry parents contacting the school or agency. The most common topic targeted in this training is sexuality education, but the focus can be adjusted based on participants' needs. Participants identify the sensitive topics they face in their workplace and have the opportunity to assess their personal values, consider student diversity, and build the skills needed to answer difficult questions. The facilitator shares a set of proven strategies for responding to questions related to sensitive topics and harassing/bullying statements, and participants practice effective responses to build their skills.
Objectives of this course:
- Identify a range of personal and community-based values.
- Explore a set of effective facilitation techniques for addressing difficult issues.
- Practice using the techniques to effectively answer a variety of difficult questions.
- Practice using the techniques to effectively respond to harassing/bullying comments.
- Develop a personal plan of action to master the facilitation practices.
Visit ETR's Training & TA Form to submit your request and receive cost information.
- Indicator 1 (K-12): Demonstrate three techniques to create an inclusive and affirming learning environment. (S)
- Indicator 1 (K-12): Demonstrate the ability to build rapport with students. (S)
- Indicator 2 (K-12): Demonstrate three student-centered instructional approaches that support a variety of learning styles. (S)
- Indicator 3 (K-12): Explain the differences between positive vs. shaming approaches to teaching sex education.
- Indicator 1 (K-12): Explain three reasons why it is important to respond to every question students ask when teaching sex education.
- Indicator 2 (K-12): Demonstrate the ability to effectively respond to three different types of challenging questions. (S)
- Indicator 3 (K-12): Explain the importance of educators refraining from sharing their personal values when implementing sex education.
- Indicator 4 (K-12): Demonstrate the ability to respond effectively to students’ values-based comments and questions. (S)
Virtual PD - Increasing Personal Comfort When Teaching Sex Ed
Virtual Professional Development is a simulated classroom where teachers can practice teaching student avatars using short scenarios and support from an instructional coach, so they can quickly learn and master the skills they most need to be effective. With upper elementary, middle and high school classrooms, Virtual PD has scenarios for teachers of all grade levels across a wide range of topics aligned with the Professional Learning Standards for Sex Education (PLSSE). You can watch the video here to learn more about Virtual PD.
Using the Virtual Professional Development simulated classroom, the educator will practice Increasing Personal Comfort When Teaching Sex Ed with the student avatars. In this VPD scenario, the participant will conduct an activity about the physical changes of puberty with an established classroom community. In this simulation with the five students, the educator will ask students to engage in a think-pair-share activity to brainstorm three physical changes of puberty and then have both small groups report back. The participant will need to demonstrate personal comfort when leading this discussion with students.
- Indicator 1 (K-12): Demonstrate the ability to build rapport with students. (S)
Additional Trainings offered by out-of-state organizations
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Sexual Violence in the Media
The media plays a huge role in how we think about sex and sexuality. Using TV clips, movie scenes, ads and songs, we will explore how the media portrays sexual violence. We will also discuss how we can use the media to have constructive conversations regarding sexual violence in our daily lives.
- Indicator 3 (K-12): Describe three strategies for teaching students communication skills.
- Indicator 4 (K-12): Describe three strategies for incorporating the positive and negative impacts of communicating through technology into lessons on healthy relationships.



