Trainings and Workshops

Ever feel like you’re not in Kansas anymore when it comes to teens and technology? The fast-paced world of technology means that adults often find themselves struggling to catch up, let alone understand the significance of networking websites frequented by teens. This workshop will help even the most novice educator learn the basics about the online world inhabited by teens. Participants will leave with a broader appreciation for the role of technology in teens’ lives today and the many connections between technology and teen relationships.

This workshop will provide participants with a general understanding of what it means to be transgender, and explain how gender identity is both unique from and related to sexual orientation. Definitions, activities and open discussion will arm participants with basic information that will enable them to both answer student questions and be sensitive to students who may identify as transgender.

The purpose of this workshop is to provide participants with opportunities to learn about and practice basic teaching methodologies and techniques that work well for conducting sex education programs with young people. The skills covered in this workshop include climate setting, understanding local policy, self-disclosure, exploring values, responding to challenging questions and harassing comments and the experiential learning cycle. You can learning about this national program here. 

One of the developmental tasks of adolescence is to gain experience and competence in building peer relationships, friendships and eventually romantic relationships. Yet, at the same time, younger teens are struggling to discard their dependence on family, and thus, find themselves pushing away from home before they have time to decipher the complexities of building new peer relationship.

Many teens at this age lack the knowledge and skills needed to communicate the genuine caring or love they may feel for another person. In addition, they may confuse their desire for loving, intimate experiences and seek out relationships that involve risky sexual behavior. Educators must learn to address the importance of peer relationships to teens and equip them with the skills needed to recognize those that reflect unhealthy and healthy characteristics.

Middle school is a time when most young people are experiencing the physical, emotional, social and cognitive changes related to puberty. These changes often leave them with many questions about their bodies, their health and their relationships. Knowing how to effectively answer tough questions students may ask, and how to respond to harassing comments students may make in class, are essential skills for all adults who have middle school-aged young people in their life. This workshop will present models for effectively responding to tough questions young people may ask, and for responding to harassing comments other students may make in class, through engagement with free educational videos from AMAZE.org

Sexual, gender and other minority students often experience identity-based biases that keep them from feeling included in both their school environments and the sex education process. This sense of exclusion has major implications not only for their future school success, but their long-term sexual health outcomes.

Advancing social justice in sex education requires taking concrete steps to make learning spaces more inclusive, while also doing the intrinsic work to correct the biases that keep them from being inclusive in the first place. Examining the ways that these thought patterns affect students’ experiences in the classroom helps to ensure that institutional changes made in the name of social justice are ones that are most effective and well-received.

The goal of this workshop is to help participants explore and unpack biases that may be in operation in their school environments, while strategizing ways to lower them in the sex education classroom.

Do your teen students constantly worry about their physical appearance? Do you struggle with how to help them critically examine media images about beauty and understand that most are fake? Do you want to learn some engaging new lesson plans to help teens analyze media messages about beauty, body image and sexuality? If so, this dynamic workshop is for you! Research shows that while childhood is usually a time of fearless exploration and possibility, adolescence brings with it such hazards as depression, eating disorders, peer pressure and more. This workshop will model effective lesson plans for use with middle and high school students to help them recognize the myth of perfection that is sold to them via the media and will explore many causes of low self-esteem in both boys and girls, address social factors (such as family, peers and the media) and identify feasible strategies for helping adolescent boys and girls feel empowered and hopeful about themselves and their futures.

This workshop is specifically designed for counselors, nurses and social workers who interact with adolescents in a one-on-one capacity in regards to sexuality. The workshop will provide professionals with an update on the latest trends in adolescent sexual behavior, an opportunity to examine personal versus professional boundaries as they relate to disclosure, practice handling teachable moments and issues related to confidentiality and agency policy regarding sexual health. Participants will identify ways that they can support and encourage adolescents to make healthy, responsible choices related to their sexuality.

Many teens prioritize pregnancy prevention and don’t recognize their risk of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Professionals know that even though teen pregnancy rates have been on the decline, STD rates have continued to climb. This workshop will provide participants with a factual update about the rates of STDs, including HIV, among teens and review the new methods of contraception that are available today. A wide variety of effective and interactive lesson plans will be modeled for middle- and high-school age students. All of these lessons are mapped to The National Sex Education Standards, Second Edition. New Jersey’s Core Curriculum Content Standard 2. If you’re looking for exciting lesson plans to help your students make healthy choices, this workshop is for you!

This highly interactive workshop will help participants discover ways to discuss issues regarding sexual harassment, sexual assault and domestic violence. Educators will identify resources that provide information, assistance and care in addressing sexual and reproductive health and legal issues. Participants will discuss how to address these issues with their students. In addition, all participants will walk away with lessons and activities that teachers can implement directly into their classrooms.

Knowledge of content alone is not sufficient in order to be an effective educator or trainer. The skill of facilitation and group management is critical to the success of leading professional workshops. This three- or four-day program will provide participants with an intensive learning experience designed to enhance existing facilitation and training skills while introducing new ones. The program’s flexible design will allow participants to learn and practice techniques that are compatible with their own ability level, and is appropriate for newer educators as well as more experienced educators who would like to brush up on their skills.

This workshop will teach participants about the fundamentals of sexual orientation and gender identity and how to ensure that all young people and their families feel welcome and included in our classrooms and programs. The first part of the workshop will provide basic information about sexual orientation and gender identity and dispel common myths. The second part of the workshop will focus on ways to create safe learning environments for students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender (LGBT) or whose family members might be. It will also provide concrete lessons for teaching LGBT issues directly to young people.