Welcoming Schools
Creating inclusive K-5 learning environments.
Welcoming Schools, an initiative of the HRC Foundation Family Project, provides administrators, educators and parents/guardians with the resources necessary to create learning environments in which all learners are welcomed and respected.
At the center of this project is the Welcoming Schools Guide which offers tools, lessons and resources on:
Welcoming Schools is currently being piloted in three school districts across the United States. The project will move toward broader distribution of the Welcoming Schools Guide after the completion of the pilot phase.
About Welcoming Schools
Initiated by a group of parents and educators to meet the needs of students whose family structures are not well represented or included in school environments, Welcoming Schools is also a response to educators who have asked for help in addressing anti-gay name-calling and bullying. Additionally, it offers a wide range of resources for school administrators and educators on supporting students who are on a unique gender path.
Welcoming Schools is not only for students who have LGBT parents or caregivers, nor is it only for students who, as they grow older, may identify as LGBT. Rather, it is for all students growing up in our increasingly diverse world.
- Welcoming Schools Guide
- Welcoming Schools National Advisory Council
- Sign up to receive Welcoming Schools updates
Why Welcoming Schools?
- All students should feel that they and their families are included and valued in their school community.
- Students are better able to learn when they see themselves and their families reflected in the curriculum.
- Research shows that students do better academically when they feel supported by their teachers and their school.
- Pressure to conform to traditional gender roles can limit students' social and academic development.
- Name-calling and bullying is harmful to the social and academic development of targets, bystanders and perpetrators.
