The purpose of this training is to:
- Define implicit bias.
- Identify the impact of implicit bias in the school setting.
- Share strategies for disrupting or reducing implicit bias in the school setting.
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!
The purpose of this training is to:
Providing quality sex ed is more than just anatomy and pregnancy. But how do you focus on all the stuff that matters to help students making informed and healthy choices?
The Teacher’s Guide has 8 units (listed below) to cover the basics of what you need to know. Go through all 8, or pick and choose what works best for you. Review the units in any order, at your own pace.
Lesson 1: Puberty & the Reproductive System
This unit covers learning pointers about teaching about puberty and reproduction.
Lesson 2: Preventing Pregnancy & Infection: The Basics of Keeping Safe
This unit covers learning about condoms and contraception when teaching sexual health education, HIV/STI prevention, and/or family life education.
Lesson 3: HIV & STIs: Making Sense of Being Safe
This unit covers learning about HIV and STIs (sexually transmitted infections) when teaching sexual health education, HIV/STI prevention, and/or family life education. Understanding how HIV and STIs are spread is critical information for students to learn. It can also be a challenging topic to understand and teach about.
Lesson 4: It’s Not Just What You Say: Techniques & Approaches for a Healthy Sex Ed Class
This unit covers learning about how to create and maintain a comfortable environment teaching sexual health education, HIV/STI prevention, and/or family life education.
Lesson 5: Knowing the Law: Laws & Policies Related to Teaching Sex Ed
This unit covers learning about the laws and policies that are relevant to teaching sexual health education, HIV/STI prevention, and/or family life education.
Lesson 6: Responding with Confidence: Answering Sensitive Questions & Maintaining Boundaries
This unit covers how to answering sensitive or challenging questions from students when teaching sexual health education, HIV/STI prevention, and/or family life education.
Lesson 7: Sexuality & Gender 101: Explaining Concepts of Gender & Sexuality
This unit covers how to talk about gender and sexual orientation particularly when teaching sexual health education, HIV/STI prevention, and/or family life education.
Lesson 8: Talking about Getting Along: The Basics of Teaching Students about Healthy Relationships
This unit covers how to teach about healthy relationships when teaching sexual health education, HIV/STI prevention, and/or family life education.
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.
Virtual Professional Development is available using our simulated classrooms and student avatars to help educators master the skills needed to effectively teach sex education. Participants can participate from a laptop, tablet or phone and can select from among the 16 skill scenarios and three grade levels we currently have available. Please email Nora Gelperin (nora@advocatesforyouth.org) to schedule your time in the simulator and for more information about our Virtual PD opportunities.
In-Person Workshops are each tailored to the unique needs of the group and their setting and will focus on ensuring that participants learn the critical skills needed to implement sexuality education with any grade level or on any topic. We also offer Training of Trainers for those looking to increase their skill at providing professional development to other professionals. Advocates for Youth commits to offering the lowest priced workshops we can, often just asking that our direct costs for travel and supplies be covered, and we will do our best to work with any budget. Workshops must be at least three hours and have a group size of between 10-30 people per trainer. Multiple trainers are available upon request for groups larger than 30. For our Rights, Respect, Responsibility K-12 Sex Education Curriculum, training is recommended but not required.
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 (link is external) to learn more about Virtual PD.
Using the Virtual Professional Development simulated classroom, the educator will practice Adapating Lessons for Students Who Are Transgender and Gender Expansive with the student avatars. In this VPD scenario, the educator will review a brief passage, examine the use of language and adapt the passage to remove assumptions about gender identity. Once in the simulation with five students, the participant will lead a brainstorm activity about STDs and how they can be prevented. The participant will need to demonstrate three strategies that can be used to make lessons affirming for students of all gender identities.
Whether you are building support for a new program or service or working to sustain an existing program or service, it’s important to build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, as well as use effective messages and delivery strategies to mobilize diverse audiences to promote adolescent health.
On a national level, Healthy Teen Network's advocacy efforts are focused around promoting and advancing adolescent sexual and reproductive health programs and services as critical to the well-being of our nation. Healthy Teen Network understands the need to maintain a spotlight on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and promote understanding of the interplay of the environment on sexual and reproductive health outcomes.
Want help in your efforts to build support for programs and services? Healthy Teen Network can work with you to…
Develop campaigns, strategies, and materials to support public policy changes at the state or local levels on issues relevant to youth.
Build support and cultivate relationships with key stakeholders, developing positive community engagement.
Write winning grant proposals in support of your fund development efforts.
Share your successes and tell your story, using strategies such as data visualization.
And more! Reach out to Healthy Teen Network to start a conversation to get the policy support you need.
Unplanned pregnancies are challenging for any population, but particularly for adolescents. When dealing with issues like pregnancy and abortion, teens are often denied the tools to make informed and autonomous decisions. This training will work with participants to identify and set aside individual judgments in order to provide unbiased support to pregnant adolescents. The training will also cover mandatory parental involvement laws, judicial bypass, and how to help minors navigate the judicial bypass system.
In this training, participants will: