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ERIC Number: EJ1157263
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Sep
Pages: 1
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0164-775X
EISSN: N/A
An Environmental Scan Tool to Assess District and School Readiness to Support Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth
Savage, Todd A.; Springborg, Heidi; Lagerstrom, Leslie
Communique, v46 n1 p14 Sep 2017
It is important that districts and schools do everything they can to create and maintain school climates and environments that are sensitive and responsive to the various educational, social, emotional, and behavioral needs of transgender and gender diverse students, regardless of the actual presence of a student who identifies as something other than cisgender. School psychologists can lead the way in assessing district and school capacities in this regard. The District and School Transgender and Gender Diverse Readiness Assessment Form (DSTGDRA; Savage, Springborg, & Lagerstrom, 2016) is an environmental scan tool intended to assess a district and a school's current capabilities to include and to support transgender and gender diverse students. It also highlights those areas that need to be addressed or improved in this regard, while helping a district or school-based team prioritize actions according to short-term and long-term timelines. The tool's format and selected areas of its focus were adapted with permission from the vulnerability assessment measure contained in the PREPaRE Workshop 1 materials (2nd ed.; Reeves et al., 2011). Developed by school psychologists in collaboration with a parent of a transgender child, the DSTGDRA is designed to be completed by a team of school personnel through collaborative conversations and review of existing products and protocols. Areas assessed at both the district and building level include: policies, communication, and messaging; conduct; behavioral interventions; health and wellness; curriculum, instruction, and educational materials; special services and equity matters; facilities; gender-safe spaces; and athletics and extracurricular activities. The measure is not standardized and no scores are computed; rather, it comprises a checklist of items related to policies, procedures, practices, and school climate in which gender diversity is considered. Based on the most recent research and known best practices, it functions as a needs assessment to inform the current state of a district or a school's ability to best meet the needs of transgender and gender diverse students. The DSTGDRA also assists teams in the development of an action plan by asking members to prioritize areas warranting change and prompting the creation of concrete timelines to move the changes forward.
National Association of School Psychologists. 4340 East West Highway Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814. Tel: 301-657-0270; Fax: 301-657-0275; e-mail: publications@naspweb.org; Web site: http://www.nasponline.org/publications/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A