Rebecca King ‘The Advocate Educator’ is an invaluable guide to supporting trans, nonbinary students Transgender and nonbinary youth are facing increasing social and political attacks, which is why a new, action-oriented guide for educators and others wanting to create supportive school environments for these young people is set to be one of the most important LGBTQ-related books of the year.
Vanessa Ford and Rebecca Kling, authors of The Advocate Educator’s Handbook: Creating Schools Where Transgender and Non-Binary Students Thrive (Jossey-Bass), spoke with me about the volume, which includes strategies and insights from their own personal and professional experiences as well as from the varied group of 52 teachers, researchers, advocates, parents, and trans and nonbinary students whom they interviewed.
Ford was a public-school classroom teacher in Washington, D.C., for 14 years, during which time one of her two children came out as transgender.
She became a nationally recognized advocate for trans and nonbinary youth while continuing a career in education, and she was a founding member of HRC’s Parents for Transgender Equality Council.