LGBTQ Safe Schools presentation at the Board

Wulfson on Safe and Supportive Schools
"another way in which we lead the nation...safe schools for our most vulnerable students, particularly those dealing with sexual orientation and gender identity"
"at a time of histrionics in other parts of the nation...very proud of professionals dealing with students in a very professional, empathetic manner"
report is here

Rachelle Engler (DESE) core strategy to support social emotional learning
"training and guidance to the field to counter bias and support safety and health"
Roger Bourgeois praises DESE staff "they really believe that all means all."
speaks of his son who was targeted as being gay in second grade
teased in elementary and middle school
suicide attempt in 10th grade
"he was worried about how he was going to be treated each day"
"used to cry every morning in the shower before he went to school because no one could hear him crying"
became a critical care nurse, working on a nurse anesthetist program
"did not have the environment to success or to thrive in school"
"he always talked about how he was broken and couldn't be fixed"
"he was trying to convince us that our lives would be better without him"
making sure that "no student in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts thinks they're broken and they can't be fixed"

Jeff Perrotti (directs Safe Schools for DESE)
"whenever you're talking about an identity that are steeped in secrecy and silence, visibility makes a difference"
model for the rest of the country
positive psychology informs our work: shining a light on what works
single most important factor in a young person's health in psychology is parental support
Brandon: started transition in eighth grade; went to a charter school in Framingham
lost many friends, was bullied for a very long time "to a point where I tried to commit suicide"
"my school didn't know what to do"
have helped my middle school, did trainings at high school "before I even went there"
"that's what I should be doing is being a kid and having fun"
Jules: "never really has been a question for me that I was a girl in my heart"
"felt so different from everyone else"
"what pushed my family to go forward with this was my teacher...was really supportive"
fourth grade to middle school, hadn't dealt with much bullying
going into high school, it just hit me
"very hard to go to school...that has continued into this year"
"most teachers do a lot more than their job descriptions entails"
need for education on LBGTQ at a young age
Landon: working with Safe Schools for past few years
transitioned in high schools
lot of anxiety and depression, a lot of problems in schools
weren't really resources at that time for younger students
realized in upper elementary realized that anxiety was related to gender
left school on medical leave freshman year due to suicide attempts and substance abuse
outlook really changed once shared with others
"when I was a kid I never really saw myself growing up...told my parents I was going to die as a kid"
Perrotti: "foreshortened future" not being able to see a future for themselves
Kimma and her parents:
"You can be an elephant or a tiger or a girl...I just need you to stay alive for me" from her father
"this is the test of my parenthood...love beyond condition"
Kimma: freshman in high school
small group of friends sort of vanished as went into middle school
felt very uncomfortable participating in that (what friends went into)
couldn't participate in masculine things, "it felt like a stab in the back, because I knew that wasn't me"
"like an ugly sweater that was removed and the jewel that was Kimma had been showed"
parents: how important it is to have professional development plans
"so they can see a future"
"how fortunate we are to live in this state"
"to start education early...[bullying] sometimes goes on, with little consequences"

Stewart: thanks for sharing your stories with us
"struck by what's within our purview"
embedding some of what's necessary in our curriculum frameworks: health hasn't been updated since 1999
Wulfson: way overdue, working out a timetable that's coming up next
West: question for Brandon how connecting to resources happened

Perrotti calls out Tom Scott and MASS, MIAA, to flag resources that exist

Trimarchi, thanks student speakers for their advocacy, speaks of mental health being among the work being done by Student Advisory Council this year

Perrotti: eight model curriculum units are in the final stages of being edited and will be posted shortly, as will supplementary health materials