Diversity and Inclusiveness Training FAQs
What is the McGrath Diversity and Inclusiveness Training?

The McGrath Diversity and Inclusiveness Training Program is a comprehensive curriculum designed to train the entire school community in awareness of diversity and how to analyze situations in a way that includes and respects culture..

Who is the training for?
Only McGrath Training Systems offers programs that are legally fit, educationally sound, and designed to intervene with the entire school community.

The Basic Course is designed for administrators, employees and teachers. It is three hours in length and can be customized for each customer’s needs.

The Train the Trainer Course is appropriate for administrators and supervisors. It is three hours in length and leaves your district with a licensed, turnkey program for training all staff. A version is also available for training students. This model enables you to deeply instill the skills and concepts throughout your district, long after our trainers have departed.

The Illegal Harassment and Discrimination Investigation Course is two full days in length and equips your district’s handpicked resource team to thoroughly investigate all misconduct and discrimination issues.

What is the difference between your program and programs on culturally responsive teaching?
Training on culturally responsive teaching methodologies is important given the diverse student demographic in most U.S. school districts and we are advocates of such training. However, while this type of training may impact student achievement, it will not shield you from liability, and is therefore an insufficient response to diversity issues in schools.

To minimize the risk of liability, you must tackle the issues of personal bias, prejudice and discrimination head on and train people to deal with culturally sensitive situations, incidents, and allegations in a way that is legally fit and educationally sound. People must be taught to think in a way that includes culture, or cultural missteps are likely to go unnoticed by even the most dedicated practitioners. At McGrath we deliver a system of practical tools and methodologies that fit into the everyday practices of school life and alter the way people think and relate.

School employees must know how to monitor and assess their own and others’ behavior. We train them to consider behavior inside a culturally neutral framework that includes all aspects of a situation – the facts, the impact of the behavior, and the context in which it is occurring – to determine appropriate action. This frees up creativity and eliminates a one-size-fits-all approach to discipline and misconduct issues, racial and cultural conflict, and divisiveness on campus.

An employee applying the McGrath tools can effectively deal with cultural differences and walk others through the steps to resolve issues without having a deep knowledge of specific cultural norms. Program participants learn to think, speak, listen and act in a way that is culturally inclusive and invites others to embrace culture as well.

Will this training protect my district from liability?
No training program can guarantee against all lawsuits, but we can train you in practices that afford you the best possible protections.

An analysis of applicable laws, federal guidelines and case law demonstrates the complexity and sensitivity of the issues surrounding discrimination against protected classes of students and employees. This is an area of law that is continually growing as the courts, state legislatures and administrative agencies attempt to further define unlawful discrimination and hammer out the scope of the liability issues. At McGrath, we keep up with the law, and are continually updating our programs to protect you.

While it is impossible to cover all bases on which liability may attach, minimizing the risks of harm and liability, comes from: having and following an explicit written policy; providing regular training and education to all employees and students; expressing disapproval of discriminatory behavior and explaining the sanctions for such conduct; maintaining a procedure for complaints that encourages victims to come forward; ensuring privacy, providing effective remedies, and protecting witnesses and victims against retaliation; prompt and thorough investigation of all reports or complaints; taking immediate corrective action; appropriate consequences if allegations are substantiated; and prompt reporting of suspected child abuse or other criminal matters. The McGrath Diversity and Inclusiveness curriculum leaves your district fully trained and prepared to implement all of these procedures, providing the best possible protection for all.

Is this training available on line?
Not yet. But we intend to create an online version sometime in 2008.

Is this training available only for school districts?
No, this training can be customized for any business, public agency or organization with a multicultural climate and/or clientele.

Do you have videos on diversity?
No, but we do produce two sets of videos on important subtopics:

• Sexual Harassment: Minimize the Risk for middle and high schools
• The Early Faces of Violence: From Schoolyard Bullying and Ridicule to Sexual Harassment for elementary schools

Do you provide a Train the Trainer model?
Yes, we provide a Train the Trainer program to prepare your in-house trainers to deliver a one-hour staff and/or student training complete with a PowerPoint presentation and facilitator guide. Site licenses are available

I live in another state. Will your program still apply?
Yes, we conduct our training in organizations throughout the United States and Canada, and our programs are designed with this audience in mind. We take into account both applicable federal law and legal precedents as well as directing you toward compliance with state and local laws and regulations. We also ask that you provide us with a copy of your antidiscrimination policies in advance so that we can tailor the training for your organization

Who is program designer Mary Jo McGrath?
Mary Jo McGrath, attorney at law, Founder and President of McGrath Systems, Inc., graduated magna cum laude in 1974 from the University of California Los Angeles, and from Loyola University School of Law cum laude in 1977. She has been a practicing attorney for nearly 30 years, specializing in employee performance issues and legal mandates in the school and workplace.

In 1989, after serving as a partner in one of California's most prestigious law firms, she founded her own law office specializing in education and personnel law. Ms. McGrath's unique practice involves cases dealing with termination, suspension, and layoffs, as well as labor relation matters such as negotiations, arbitrations, unfair practice proceedings and employment discrimination issues, with an emphasis on sexual harassment and educator sexual abuse.
Ms. McGrath is author of School Bullying: Tools for Avoiding Harm and Liability (Corwin Press, 2007). Her training company, McGrath Training Systems, also produces the highly acclaimed educational video series for schools Student Sexual Harassment and Abuse: Minimize the Risk and The Early Faces of Violence: From Schoolyard Bullying and Ridicule to Sexual Harassment. McGrath Training has delivered workshops on topics ranging from sexual harassment and abuse awareness and investigation to employee supervision evaluation and leadership to more than 250,000 school administrators, teachers, staff, students, parents and community members.

Ms. McGrath is acknowledged as an international expert in sexual harassment and child sexual abuse as well as employee performance, quality and discipline law. She served an expert consultant to the office of the California Governor on teacher tenure reform and has been the featured legal expert on CBS' Eye to Eye with Connie Chung, The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and 48 Hours programs on the issue of sexual harassment and abuse and on ABC's 20/20 on the issue of teacher quality and performance. She has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Redbook, Reader's Digest, Seventeen and several nationally circulated professional journals. Ms. McGrath served as Chair of the US Department of Education Safe, Disciplined and Drug-Free Schools Expert Panel from 2000 to 2002.

What are the fees for live workshops and how do I schedule a workshop in my district?
Costs vary depending on length of training, location, and class size. For more information, or to schedule a workshop, please call McGrath Training Systems at 800-733-1638.