Irish Delegation Of Educators Visits San Mateo County

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — A delegation of eight educators from Northern Ireland will visit San Mateo County from February 17-21st to learn about the implementation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) curriculum in K-12 schools. Members of the media are invited to meet the delegation and attend a workshop at the San Mateo County Office of Education on Wednesday, February 19th.

During its visit, the group will meet with leaders of LGBTQ organizations, school Genders and Sexualities Alliance (GSA) coordinators and students, and staff who teach LGBTQ health curriculum. They will also visit a high school classroom to observe the teaching of LGBTQ history as part of the new California History and Social Sciences standards, the San Mateo Pride Center, and the LGBTQ History Museum in San Francisco.

The delegation will also meet with San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools Nancy Magee and staff of the County Office of Education, which provides training and support to districts with the new curriculum.

California became the first state to mandate the teaching of the “contributions of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people” or LGBT history with the passage of the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act in 2011. The History-Social Science (HSS) Framework, adopted in 2016, identifies LGBT history and social studies topics that are appropriate for different grade levels.

The workshop will be held on Wednesday, February 19, from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the San Mateo County Office of Education.

This press release was produced by the San Mateo County Office of Education. The views expressed here are the author’s own.