The Advocate Educator's Handbook: Creating Schools Where Transgender and Non-Binary Students Thrive

A critical guide on creating inclusive classrooms for transgender students

Including a foreword from Dr. Peggy Brookins, President of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, The Advocate Educator’s Handbook offers a tested framework for educators to use in their journeys to create inclusive classrooms for transgender and non-binary students. Centered on a framework of four principles – educate, affirm, include, and disrupt – this book provides a new way of thinking about inclusivity in the classroom, as well as practical ways to foster students’ sense of belonging. The authors bring rich understanding to the topic – Kling as a transgender educator & advocate, Ford as a teacher & parent of a transgender child, and both authors being educators themselves. You’ll also read stories from transgender and non-binary students, teachers, researchers, parents, and more, providing unique and important perspectives. 

Inside the book, you’ll find includes tools that you can start using on day one of being in the classroom. You’ll also find model policies for teachers, schools administrators, and public policymakers, so you can begin the important work of advocating for and with trans and non-binary students. By engaging with trans youth and allies, we can build inclusivity in and beyond the classroom.

• Understand what it means to be transgender or non-binary and learn about the experiences of trans youth
• Learn how to support trans and non-binary students with dozens of firsthand accounts from experts serving the communities
• Find resources you can use as an educator in your journey toward inclusivity in education

• Recognize and respond to anti-trans policies and laws targeting trans students 

• Identify important actions unique to your situation with personal reflection questions and scenarios

This book was created especially for K-12 educators, administrators, and others looking to enact change and create safe spaces for transgender and non-binary youth. From daily life in the classroom to policy at the highest levels, The Advocate Educator’s Handbook will help educators & their community work toward meaningful change.

Authors: Vanessa Ford and Rebecca Kling

Paperback  Published January 2024  272 pages