Certification Requirements:

To become a Certified School Culture Advocate, participants will successfully pass the following sequence of courses through the Safe Schools Academy. Courses can be taken for either license renewal, graduate credit, or a combination of both.

Foundations in School Climate and Culture:

• Cultivating Diverse Classrooms: Cultural Competency (2-credit course)

• Taking Your School’s Temperature: Using School Data to Improve School Climate (1 credit)

Climate and Culture Core Competencies:

Students must earn a minimum of three courses with one course from each of the following competencies.

• Civic and Social Engagement: (Pick One Course)

  • Amplifying Student Voice

  • The Art & Science of Teaching Tolerance

  • Civil Discourse in the Classroom: Promoting Social Justice through Middle and High School Texts

  • Distance Learning 101: What You Need to Know About Student Success in the Time of COVID-19

  • Distance Learning 201

  • Engage & Empower: Cultivating Next-Generation Leadership

  • Fake News: The Classroom Struggle Between Facts and Opinions

  • It Takes a Family: Using Children’s Books to Advance Social Awareness

  • Information Overload: Promoting Media Literacy in Students (2-credit course)

  • Red, White and Who? Politics and Government in the Modern Classroom (2-credit course)

  • Reel Talk: Cultural Critique of Popular Movies (In-Person only)

• Diversity and Inclusion: (Pick One Course)

  • The Barriers of Boyhood and Masculinity

  • #BlackLivesMatter: Changing Racial Disparities in Schools

  • Creating A Supportive Environment for New Iowans

  • Ending Anti-Semitism in America

  • Equipping All Students for Success in STEM

  • Far From Home: Building a Supportive Classroom for Refugee Students

  • Future Ready: Getting All Students Prepared for College and Careers

  • Introduction to Diversity

  • Making Your Classroom Safe for LGBTQ Youth

  • On Wednesdays We Wear Pink: Understanding the Politics of Girl World

  • Supporting Latinx Students

  • Supporting Muslim Students

  • Understanding and Supporting Trans Youth

  • Unpacking the GSA Toolbox

  • A Very Queer History: LGBTQ History and Classroom Inclusion

• Safety, Support, and Wellness: (Pick One Course)

  • Act Up! Fight AIDS! What Students Need to Know About HIV

  • Anxiety Awareness and Advocacy (2-credit course)

  • Balancing Academics and Serious Illness: Supporting Students and Families (2-credit course)

  • Breaking the Cycle: School-to-Prison Pipelines (2-credit course)

  • Bullying Remediation: Response and Safety Planning

  • Depression Awareness and Advocacy (2-credit course)

  • Dissecting the Complexities of Social Media: From Cyberbullying to Sexting

  • #EnoughIsEnough: Dating and Domestic Violence

  • From Tinker to Today: Student Rights in School

  • A House is Not a Home: Students from Non-Traditional Families

  • Introduction to K-12 Social-Emotional Learning

  • The Invisible Population: Human Trafficking in Iowa

  • Mental Health Systems, Supports, and Awareness (3-credit course)

  • Navigating Conversations on Human Sexuality

  • No More: Preventing Sexual Assault

  • Out of the School: Cyberbullying Prevention

  • Providing Support, Caring for Students: Suicide Prevention for Educators

  • Reaching and Teaching Students in Poverty (3-credit course)

  • Recognizing and Empathizing with Student Grief and Loss

  • Restorative Classroom Practices

  • Sexually Transmitted Infections: The Importance of Educating Youth

  • Stopping Bullying in Its Tracks: Understanding Power Imbalance

  • Substance Use and Abuse: Supporting Students in Making Healthy Choices

  • Supporting Homeless Students

  • Supporting Students: The Importance of Inclusive Curriculum (3-credit course)

  • Supportive Teams, Safe Schools: How to Create A Supportive Team Environment

  • Transforming Trauma: Providing Students with Safety and Support

  • Tobacco Education and Prevention: Youth Activism at the Local Level

  • When the Scale Defines the Student: Understanding Eating Disorders

Climate and Culture Capstone:

Students wishing to enroll in Capstone course MUST complete all Foundations in School Climate and Culture and Climate and Culture Core Competencies coursework. Please contact info@iowasafeschools.org with any questions prior to registering for the Capstone course.

• School Culture Advocacy through Educator-Driven Leadership (3 credits)