Education Policy
About
Investing in the future leaders of North Carolina is central to how Equality NC dedicates our time, energy and resources. LGBTQ young people face higher rates of bullying, violence and homelessness than their straight, cisgender peers and need our support to navigate the specific challenges of growing up queer in North Carolina.
Equality NC makes a concerted effort to invest in young changemakers through programming like our Rural Youth Empowerment (RYE) Fellowship, in addition to providing education and training to adult educators and caretakers.
Our work includes:
- Implementing LGBTQ-inclusive training and professional development to K-12 educators, school staff, administrators and families to create more welcoming environments in schools.
- Training youth to lobby state legislators and policy makers.
- Focusing our work in rural areas in addition to bigger cities across the state.
- Addressing the epidemic of LGBTQ homelessness through our work, with 40% of homeless youth identifying as LGBTQ.
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Professional Development
Bring Equality NC to your campus to facilitate professional development to educators, administrators and school staff to establish safer, more LGBTQ inclusive classroom environments.
Professional Development Modules
Supporting LGBTQ-Inclusive Classrooms
Gender Diversity and Equity
Race, Gender & Bias: A Community Conversation
Student Workshops
Developing GSAs and Building a Vision
Resisting Systems of Oppression
Direct Action Training
Rural Youth Empowerment Fellowship
The Rural Youth Empowerment (RYE) Fellowship is a year-long mentorship and training program for LGBTQ young people in rural areas of North Carolina. The program supports RYE Fellows to successfully execute a social justice project serving rural communities while developing leadership skills.
Over the course of a year, a cohort of ten RYE Fellows will attend day-long leadership institutes in three different locations throughout the state, attend major Equality NC community events, participate in monthly video conferences, work one-on-one with community mentors, and receive fellowship stipends to help offset costs associated with their project.
To learn more about the RYE Fellowship, head to the RYE page.