Reports on first year success of Safe Schools Initiative for gay and lesbian youth

One year after Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the Boston School Committee and Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant launched a citywide effort to support gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) students in the city's public high schools, the Task Force which oversees the project released a report citing significant progress, including the formation or strengthening of gay/straight alliances (GSAs), trainings for students and staff and other efforts to promote awareness of issues faced by GLBT youth.

Thanks to a $40,000 Safe Schools grant from the Massachusetts Department of Education and a $5,000 City investment, the Task Force hired Chandra Dieppa Ortiz and Kate Stern to serve as co-coordinators of the program. Under the direction of Dr. Pia Durkin and Carolyn Riley of the BPS Unified Student Services Team, the co-coordinators provided technical assistance to Principals and Headmasters, school personnel and students to create and support GSAs. By June 2000, 17 high schools formed or had developed a formal action plan to launch a gay/straight alliance, compared to only 5 such schools prior to the announcement of the initiative.

In the Spring of 2000, 13 high schools applied for individual Safe Schools grants; each was awarded at least $2,400, totaling $36,840, more than any other district in the Commonwealth. Each school is using the funds to support GSA activities, conduct school-based trainings, develop educational materials and other projects to foster a safe, supportive environment for GLBT youth. The adult facilitators of the GSAs now meet regularly to participate in professional development and to exchange best practices.

In the program's first three months, the co-coordinators also accomplished the following:

• conducted, with partner agencies, 32 trainings and/or workshops for high schools, middle schools and BPS leadership, engaging almost 1,000 students and staff in educational programs about GLBT youth;
• coordinated the first district-wide Safe Schools Conference, attracting more than 100 students from Boston public high schools;
• developed a resource kit and accompanying workshop about issues facing GLBT youth and strategies for addressing homo-bi-trans-phobia in schools.

According to the report, the co-coordinators' priorities for the program's second year include outreach to additional high, middle and elementary schools, and strengthening ties to community agencies which support GLBT youth.

"While we have made great strides," the report states, "there is still much that remains to be done to make safe schools a reality for all students, including GLBT youth. By creating safer schools through education, training, and building/maintaining our GSAs, we begin the task of educating the whole student on the importance of respect for all."

In addition to the Massachusetts DOE, the program is supported by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth and other agencies, and is overseen by a task force composed of BPS teachers, guidance counselors, administrators and private partners.

For more information, contact:
Christopher Horan,
Boston School Committee
(617) 635-9014