“150,000 youth in Michigan self-reported as LGBT — lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender," says John Austin, president of the Michigan State Board of Education. "Those students are also five times more likely to commit suicide and twice as likely not to go to school because they feel unwelcome or afraid.”

 

He shared that gender inclusive schools combat these statistics, improving life chances and learning success for students.  

 

Students who don’t fit traditional gender stereotypes are more likely to face violence, abuse, harassment and discrimination due to limited, narrow views about gender, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Helping educators create an environment that embraces students everywhere on the gender spectrum creates a space where all children want to be and learn.  

  

The goal of the policy is to refresh best practices and create additional guidance on how educators can apply common-sense policies and practices that respect the rights and safety of all students, including LGBT, and eliminate obstacles to learning and safety.  

  

With support from teachers, professionals in education associations and the Michigan Parent Teacher Association, Austin says he is confident Michiganders will embrace the gender inclusive curriculum. 

  

Joel Baum, senior director of professional development and family services at Gender Spectrum, a nonprofit organization that advocates for gender inclusiveness in schools and communities, helped to revise and refine the policy. Starting his career as an educator and then moving on as an administrator, he knows firsthand how crucial understanding gender is to students and their future.  

  

He now speaks to schools about how gender stereotypes can impact all students, and shares how schools can recognize and account for the gender diversity of all children. His philosophy has helped Michigan schools and others learn that they can incorporate gender inclusiveness on an internal, institutional and interpersonal level.  

  

Creating a gender inclusive school touches different aspects of everyday student life, including the dividing of groups in class, how to address comments about gender, and even the posters students see in the hallways.  

  

“Educators need to learn what gender is and what it isn’t,” Baum said. "Schools should not push the idea that gender doesn't exist, or that there is no such thing as boys and girls. Instead, they need to acknowledge that there are various gender identities, all of which are central to who students are as people. If we can create a space where children are honored and recognized for who they are, they learn better.”

  

In regard to LGBT student experiences outside of the classroom, Austin believes that gender inclusiveness in schools sends a message to communities that all children should be appreciated and treated with respect.  

  

Baum had a similar belief, stating, “We are educators and we have to bring our community along and help them understand what this issue is about.”  

  

Moving forward, these lessons about gender will work their way into the fabric of communities around Michigan, creating a more desirable place for others to want to come, live and work.

Joel Baum will be the keynote speaker Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016, at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing. Come and learn how to create a truly inclusive school, gain a sharper understanding of gender and learn how to respond to issues raised by community members at MSPRA's Fall Drive-In Conference. Register online here.