More than 90% of staff at MHPSD take on 2SLGBTQI+ training

By James Tubb on July 15, 2023.

Staff within Medicine Hat Public School Division received 2SLGBTQI+ training this academic year.

“The sessions were put on and every employee in the system was welcome. All staff who work in schools were expected to attend,” said superintendent Mark Davidson. “Over 90 per cent of the staff in the system attended, included those who weren’t expected to.”

The intent of the workshop is for the division to ensure they are attending to their commitment to inclusion in a way that fits the research along with meeting the expectations of human rights legislation and the Education Act.

“Bringing in an outside expert, who understands all of those pieces and is able to walk us through what is a shifting landscape in terms of the phrases we use — the vocabulary that is acceptable, what is expected of us — seemed to us to be a useful exercise so that we didn’t miss important parts of the work,” explained Davidson.

MHPSD brought in the education coordinator at the University of Alberta Fyrefly Institute for Gender and Sexual Diversity to facilitate the training.

Learning objectives included an understanding of sexual and gender diverse terminology, best practices for supporting trans and queer colleagues and students, along with understanding the distinction between sex assigned at birth, gender identity and gender expression.

The expectation throughout the division is that all staff are respectful and inclusive. The goal is ensuring all schools are safe for every student in the system and that the adults in the school system are aware of what that means in terms of support.

“That’s inclusive of not just 2SLGBTQI+ students, but it’s also inclusive of Indigenous students, students with learning disabilities and neuro-divergent students and so on,” said Davidson. “We owe it to the children in the community we serve to understand what it is people need from us in order to feel like they can be fully engaged in the life of a school and feel safe and happy to be there.

“It’s always hard for kids to be kids,” he continued. “There isn’t a young person in a middle or high school who is going through adolescence who doesn’t have days or long stretches where they feel like they don’t fit. Even the kids who, from the outside, look like they always fit. Creating a space where every kid feels like, even on those kinds of day, there is somebody who is there for them. Why we can’t understand every individual kid’s circumstance, we are willing to be there to support them moving through school in a way that fits who they are.”

All efforts in MHPSD are about ensuring staff are well educated about how to include and support. The intent is to ensure the division doesn’t get complacent on making sure kids know supports are available and that they are valued and belong.

The work continues to be ongoing. Part of the onboarding process for all new staff will include a version of the 2SLGBTQI+ training, along with presentations from the First Nations, Metis and Inuit team, the inclusion team and so on. This is to ensure all staff understand the values the board has expressed in MHPSD’s Education Plan.

Additionally, the division will continually review policies and procedures to ensure they align with human rights legislation, current research and the board’s goals.

“If we are told there are new things or more things we need to learn in order to be fully inclusive, then we’ll respond,” said Davidson.