British Columbia

The BC SOGI Educator Network brings together BC educators interested in supporting safe and inclusive education.

Our Work in BC

The BC SOGI Educator Network brings together BC educators interested in supporting safe and inclusive education. It enables these educators to meet, share experiences, co-create resources, and collectively overcome obstacles within and across school districts as well as First Nations and independent schools. District-level members in public school districts gain access to an expansive collection of tools and resources to adapt to the needs of their schools.

The BC Educator Network was launched as a pilot project at the beginning of the 2016/2017 year by ARC Foundation and nine BC school districts: Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, Langley, Delta, Sea to Sky, Nanaimo-Ladysmith, and Kamloops/Thompson. In just over two school years, the BC Educator Network went from 9 to all 60 districts, as well as a growing number of First Nations and independent schools.

We would like to express our gratitude for the guidance and support from education and community leaders that informed the introduction of SOGI 123 in BC. Learn more about the resources available for students, families, and educators on BC’s erase website.

Educators participate in the network within one of the following roles:

  • SOGI DISTRICT LEAD – This position is appointed centrally by district leadership and is usually filled by one or two educators. The District Leads raise awareness of safe and inclusive education within their districts by developing district-wide initiatives and recruiting, training, and supporting School Leads. District Leads often have dedicated hours for this role, attend regular network meetings, and can be a teacher, administrator, counsellor, district principal, or other district role.
  • SOGI SCHOOL LEAD – Any BC educator in a school district, independent school or First Nations school can participate as a School Lead. The School Leads raise awareness of safe and inclusive education within their schools by sharing, implementing, and developing practices and initiatives. School Leads can be teachers, administrators, teacher-librarians, counsellors, or any other staff role in a school.

Interested in joining the BC SOGI Educator Network? The network is open to all public school districts, as well as First Nations and independent schools. If you are in a public school please contact your District Lead for more information on how to get involved. If you’re not sure who your District Lead is, or if you are in a First Nations or independent school that is not already participating, please connect with us and we can guide you further!

Even before joining the network, you can be part of a network of change.

  1. Connect with the Network: Contact us to find out which Educator Network is the best place for you.
  2. Share resources: Email us to share your resources with the network and/or on this website.
  3. Inspire others: You don’t have to be an expert to inspire others. You just have to make an effort. Decide on the next thing you will do to create change in your classroom or school.
  4. Use network resources: All the resources on this site have been developed with educators, for educators. Use them, and let us know what you think.
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