New York State Network for Youth Success

Youth and The Right to Privacy
2023-06-02 11:00 - 12:30 (America/New_York)
In this session, we will explore the tricky balance between young people’s inherent right to privacy and our responsibility as caregivers to keep them safe. How can we protect young people from very real dangers without sheltering them entirely from a world they need to be prepared to navigate? How can we incorporate technology – smartphones, social media etc. – into a changing conversation about privacy? And most importantly, how can we challenge ageist norms that strip youth of their agency and right to privacy in the name of safety?

New Laws and New Talent: Attracting & Retaining LGBTQIA Employees
2023-05-30 11:00 - 12:00

Latinx and Complex: Supporting Latinx Families
2023-05-26 10:00 - 11:30, 2023-05-09 10:00 - 11:30
The Latinx umbrella encompasses many different nations, cultures, and racial identities. Learning the about some of the fundamental differences within the Latinx community is important to building trust with Latinx program participants and their families. In this workshop, participants will receive an overview of Latinx culture in the United States and the unique challenges this multiracial and multicultural community faces. Participants will also gain a better understanding of hidden rules in the Latinx culture that impact learning environments. The goal of this program is to provide participants with strategies to improve student academic performance and socialization.

Youth Autonomy, Empathy and Ageism
2023-05-17 11:00 - 12:30, 2023-05-06 11:00 - 12:30
In this interactive session, participants will be invited to reflect on their own experiences and to interrogate the ageist assumptions that underpin our interactions with youth. We will seek to answer questions such as: How does fear drive us to exert more control over youth than is necessary, and how can we manage those fears? How can I safely introduce more autonomy into the expectations I set for youth, while providing the tools for them to meet those expectations successfully? How can I access empathy as a resource to build a strong foundation of trust and honesty in my relationships with youth?

From Awareness to Advocacy: How Do I Show Up As An Agent of Change?
2023-05-12 11:00 - 12:30

Approaching Foundations & Building Relationships with Funders
2023-05-10 12:00 - 13:30
Philanthropy is a powerful force for good in our society. Come and learn how you can invite philanthropic investment in your community, school, and program to sustain the work you started with ARP funds, add programming to fill gaps for specific needs, or diversify funding for program longevity. We will take a “backstage tour” of foundations and hear directly from grant makers and program officers. You will learn how to find funding opportunities, approach foundations, position your program competitively, and hear more about how collaboration can be a competitive edge.
+What are the key differences in private funding and government funding?
+How does it help an application to demonstrate collaboration and shared resources?
+What are the important elements that foundations are looking for right now in proposals?
+What are some tips for building lasting relationships with foundations and private funders?
+How do you find funding opportunities from foundations?
REGISTER NOW

Systems Update: Enhancing Documents & E-Forms to Better Serve LGBTQIA Youth and Families
2023-05-08 10:00 - 11:00, 2023-05-02 11:00 - 12:00
Noticing that your electronic and paper forms don’t give all the information your staff need, or that they don’t work for all of your families? Geared towards directors and other leadership, this interactive session provides practical examples for adjusting forms and for how to work around 3rd-party systems. Bring your forms to help us work through real examples!
Attendance of Names & Pronouns session encouraged.
Prerequisite: LGBTQIA 101.

Unseen Tears: The Impact of Native American Residential Boarding Schools in Western New York
2023-05-05 10:00 - 12:00
This session will take a deep look into the system of Native American residential boarding schools that were operated throughout the United States and Canada, nearly all of which followed the motto of “Kill the Indian, save the man.” This system was an intentional effort to remove Native children from their communities, place them in institutions that were patterned after prison and/or military systems, and have them lose their connections with their traditional cultures and assimilate into mainstream society. Recent news reports have exposed the finding of gravesites of children who died at many of these boarding schools. This session will feature the screening and facilitated discussion of a powerful documentary, “Unseen Tears: The Impact of Native American Boarding Schools in Western New York,” as well as emerging efforts designed to counteract and overcome the residual impacts of these schools.

Decolonizing Gender and Sexuality
2023-05-04 11:00 - 12:30
This session will examine gender and sexuality through an Indigenous lens, with a focus on the impact of colonialism on queerness and gender equity in Indigenous communities. Participants will gain a more nuanced understanding of the unique challenges faced by 2Spirit, Queer, and Trans Indigenous people.

From Awareness to Advocacy: How Do I Show Up As An Agent of Change?
2023-04-28 11:00 - 12:30
In this new series on intersectionality, participants will discuss the differences between awareness, allyship, advocacy and activism, and how to improve upon how they show up as creators of safe and inclusive spaces. Continuing from our conversations featured in “Embracing Change,” participants will explore why it is important to have critical conversations about racism, misogyny, homophobia, and xenophobia with our colleagues and students, and engage in self-assessment on where they have growth potential in various areas of the diversity spectrum. In an effort to set the stage as agents of change, participants will be expected to engage in the practice of recognition regarding their own social identity markers throughout this session.

Register Now

Sustaining What Works: The State of Stimulus Funds
2023-04-26 12:00 - 13:30

LGBTQIA 101: Foundations in Gender and Attraction
2023-04-26 11:00 - 12:30, 2023-03-16 11:30 - 13:00, 2023-03-10 10:00 - 11:30
An interactive [re]introduction to terminology and key concepts related to sexual orientation and gender identity expression. This session serves the foundation necessary for exploring the skills, practices, policies, and NYS laws in the upcoming LGBTQIA sessions. Individuals wishing to attend other sessions from the facilitator must first attend this session.

Embracing Change: Finding Common Ground on Intersectionality About Race, Gender, Religion, Class and Sexual Orientation [PART 4]
2023-04-24 11:00 - 12:30
In the fourth session of our series on intersectionality, participants will discuss the differences between awareness, allyship, advocacy and activism. We will explore why it is important to have critical conversations about racism, misogyny, homophobia and xenophobia with our colleagues and students. Participants will also explore how to respond to fear and resistance, and why discomfort in conversations on equity can be uncomfortable but necessary. Participants will also share why it is imperative to explore identity in shared spaces with children and youth, and practice how to advocate for change within their workplace and institutions.

Bias Talks: The Language of Accountability
2023-04-21 10:00 - 11:30, 2023-04-13 10:00 - 11:30
Interrupting bias in our everyday lives can be daunting, especially when you may not have the language to express your thoughts. In this interactive presentation, participants will be able to learn strategies and the language to engage in difficult conversations thoughtfully. Want to share these strategies with your students? Participants will also receive tools to bring the training back to their programs through age-appropriate activities.

Embracing Change: Part 3
2023-04-18 11:00 - 12:30
In the third session of our series on intersectionality and finding common ground, participants will be able to unpack the political implications of why diversity and inclusion have become such charged issues, and discuss what we as educators can do about continuing to create socially-safe spaces for youth. Participants in the session will explore how to navigate our own biases and engage in discussion about protective practices for building inclusive communities. Participants will also explore strategies for how to ensure the safety of students with marginalized identities, and identify where we as practitioners need to learn more.

Register Now

Names & Pronouns: Making Mistakes and Getting it Right
2023-04-05 10:00 - 11:00, 2023-03-28 11:00 - 12:00
Adjusting to a youth’s new name? Struggling with they/them pronouns? Wondering what to do when the family isn’t on board? This session provides attendees with tips, tools, and NYS laws applicable to communicating with and about youth & staff who are trans and/or nonbinary. Prerequisite: LGBTQIA 101

Embracing Change: Finding Common Ground on Intersectionality About Race, Gender, Religion, Class and Sexual Orientation [PART 2]
2023-04-03 11:00 - 12:30
In the second session of our series on finding common ground, participants will discuss intersectionality and the benefits and importance of discussing critical issues that spark controversy regarding race, gender, class and sexual orientation. Participants will also reflect on their roles as gatekeepers in the workplace, and why creating a culture of dignity and respect is so vital for educational spaces. This session will focus on dismantling barriers to participation for students, and ask attendees to engage in intersectional authenticity as a practice. We will also begin to explore the spectrum of diversity from awareness to advocacy.

Glurch vs. Oobleck: Developing an Active STEAM Learning Environment
2023-03-29 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom
Get a hands-on look at creating an equitable learning environment. Focusing on techniques that engage girls, trainer Timothy Fowler will connect a hands-on science experience to research into how to engage young women in science rather than turn them away from learning opportunities. Focus will be on pedagogy in practice and will include resources for deeper exploration. This hands-on session requires materials to be gathered ahead of time. This includes:
Glurch (Recipe without Borax)
–1 cup of cornstarch
–1/2 cup–1cup clear liquid soap or conditioner – (Method hand soap works well)
–1 mixing bowl
–1 spoon
Oobleck:
–1 cup water
–1 cup cornstarch
–1 mixing bowl
–1 spoon

Modelling Engineering Practices
2023-03-27 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom
Learn how to engage young people in engineering design practices by tackling a design challenge! This workshop will feature activities from a design challenge project. Participants will experience the activity, and discuss how all young people can try on the identity of an engineer. This session will emphasize the skills of an engineer, as well as process, in order to engage young people in ‘trying on’ the role of engineer. This will be a hands-on session, even though we are meeting via Zoom.
Please have the following materials handy:
–heavy book (such as a textbook)
–masking tape
–1 sheet cardboard (about 8½ x 11 in. [22 x 28 cm])
–8 sheets newspaper
From the presenter, Timothy: I also recommend having a table or desk cleared off so you can work. I am going to set my laptop up at one end of a table, for example, so I can work on the table and still be seen in Zoom. This will not be a sit and listen experience, it will be a making and thinking experience.

Embracing Change: Finding Common Ground on Intersectionality About Race, Gender, Religion, Class and Sexual Orientation [PART 1]
2023-03-27 11:00 - 12:30
To start off the new year in this primary session, participants will be able to identify their own DEI growth potential and explore the core concepts of dignity and respect– and investigate the hallmarks of intersectionality. Participants will also redefine their major-identity markers and unpack why it’s so hard for many of us to adapt to changes and challenges regarding race, gender, religion, class and sexual orientation in the world around us. We will also explore the ‘-isms’ we are collectively up against, and open ourselves up to identify what we need to learn more about in our quest to grow as educators. We will also discuss finding common ground and uncover why it is our job to help others change.

REGISTER TODAY: School's Out, Make it Count! 2023 Annual Conference
2023-03-24 00:00 - 2023-03-25 23:30 | Hilton Garden Inn-Troy, 235 Hoosick Street, Troy, 12180, United States
Register today for our 6th Annual School’s Out, Make it Count! Conference

Bias: A Human Condition
2023-03-17 10:00 - 11:30
This highly interactive training opportunity will discuss the neurological basis for implicit bias. Participants will be able to reframe their understanding of bias and learn practical definitions for diversity, equity, and inclusion terms. Real-life examples and relevant research will be discussed to assist participants in identifying bias within various every day and educational contexts.

Leveraging Partnerships for High Quality Community Schools and Out-of-School Time
2023-03-15 12:00 - 13:30
Register Now
