OUTINCT 2022

Fostering welcoming,
affirming, and joyful
environments for our
LGBTQIA+ students
By Natalie McCabe Zwerger & Dr. Sophia Bolt,
RE-Center Race & Equity in Education
We must foster welcoming, affirming, and joyful environments
for our LGBTQIA+ students, staff, families, and community
members, and, yes, this work advances our agendas for equity
and racial justice in our schools. Our schools must provide a
diverse spectrum of representation of gender and sexuality
that centers values of justice, counters narratives of anti-
Blackness, and decentralizes power in systems that are fueled
by homophobia and transphobia. “Equity means students define
and experience their own success, experience joy in learning
everyday, and see themselves reflected in the content of their
learning as well as the educators who serve them. It provides
a climate in school that attends to race, ethnicity, language,
culture, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation,
religion, disability, and socioeconomic status (McCabe Zwerger,
2017). But, are our schools equity-focused? How can we get
there if not?
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