New Orleans’ Posh Academy Helps LGBT Students Complete GED
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students often report facing hostile school environments. As a result, many say they leave or get pushed out.
The Posh Academy in New Orleans is giving young people such as Lhundyn Fernandez and Keira Dixon an option for earning a GED and moving on to higher education or better employment. The academy was launched by BreakOUT!, a nonprofit addressing issues facing LBGT youth. WWNO’s Mallory Falk spoke with Fernandez and Dixon for the Southern Education Desk‘s series, Back on Track.
For Fernandez, 23, Posh is place of acceptance.
“No matter who you are, you will be accepted. You always worry about being accepted. Once that worry goes away, you are free to learn,” Fernandez says.
Dixon, 25, says Posh works because she’s around people with whom she can identify.
Mallory Falk
Lhundyn Fernandez shows off the whiteboard tracking scholars’ hours. Once they reach 40, they’re ready to take the HiSET exam.
“It’s a family oriented kind of thing, so it’s not like anyone feels out of place,” Dixon says. “You know you’re not going to be outcasted or ridiculed for what you don’t know or how you look.”
“I don’t think anyone is going to have a problem with being teased at Posh Academy. You just won’t.”
Dixon says she plans to study nursing after completing Posh Academy.
Fernandez says college is on the horizon, but there are more immediate plans.
“Once I graduate, there’s going to be some job applications filled out. I see a better future for myself,” Fernandez says.
This Southern Education Desk series is supported by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It’s presented for American Graduate Day, an event on airways around the country October 3, to raise awareness of the importance of high school graduation.
Jim Jarmusch’s ‘Father Mother Sister Brother’ wins top prize at Venice Film Festival
Jim Jarmusch's quietly humorous relationship triptych won the top prize on Saturday. The film about the relationships between siblings, and with their parents, stars Adam Driver, Vicky Krieps and Cate Blanchett.
ICE arrests at a Georgia Hyundai plant create new tension with South Korea
South Korea's foreign minister is considering a trip to the U.S. to meet with the Trump administration after hundreds of South Koreans were arrested in Georgia at an electric vehicle battery plant.
Davey Johnson, who won 2 World Series with Orioles, managed Mets to title, dies at 82
Davey Johnson, an All-Star second baseman who won the World Series twice with the Baltimore Orioles as a player and managed the New York Mets to the title in 1986, died Friday.
Ken Dryden, Hall of Fame goalie for the Montreal Canadiens, dies at age 78
Dryden backstopped the NHL's most successful franchise to championships in six of his eight seasons in the league from 1970-71 to '78-79. He died after a fight with cancer.
‘Twinless’ is a dark comedy that doubles up on the twists
Dylan O'Brien and James Sweeney craft a kind of chemistry that is equal parts funny and heart-wrenching.
Russ & Daughters in NYC celebrates ‘100 years of appetizing’ and family
At Russ & Daughters, it takes three months to learn how to slice salmon. NPR's Scott Simon visits the 100 year-old appetizing store to try his hand at the fine art and talk about their new cookbook.
