Proposed Charter School Plans to Serve LGBTQ Youth
Many students in Alabama who identify as LGBTQ say they don’t feel safe at school. Most, according to one survey, have been assaulted or harassed. Recently, an openly gay Huntsville teen who was bullied took his own life.
Organizers of a proposed charter school for LGBTQ students in Birmingham say they want to establish a place where young people can feel secure.
Jennifer Sumner, whose 16-year-old son is transgender, says the school is needed. It’s been difficult for her to find a school that’s a good fit for her child.
“I have moved around the state of Alabama to find a school that is supportive,” she says. “The last few months, we’ve had to homeschool him.”
She says her son has been bullied and called names, and there are other daily challenges.
“You would think that somebody who has already transitioned would be allowed to use the restroom that they identify with,” she says, “but that is not the case without a real struggle, and sometimes it still doesn’t happen.”
Stories like Sumner’s aren’t uncommon, according to Amanda Keller, director of the Magic City Acceptance Center. It’s billed as a safe space with a no-judgement atmosphere for LGBTQ youths.
The idea for the charter school grew out concerns for young people who regularly come to the center. Keller also points to a state snapshot from the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network that shows an increase in harassment reported by LBGTQ youths in school.
The bullying and lack of support for LGBTQ students takes a toll, Keller says. Some drop out. Others even take their own lives.
“This conversation is very familiar to us, and we have lost people who have physically been in our space,” she says. “Every single time our question to ourselves is ‘What could we have done differently? What can we do better?”
Keller says a safe affirming school can help LGBTQ youths through some of their struggles.
Organizers haven’t chosen a location, but Keller says, it will be somewhere in Jefferson County.
“I have no doubt that there are some families who will even move closer to Jefferson County so that their youth can attend this school, because we have people across the state and families who report that they just cannot find safe schools for their children,” she says.
Dwight Jinright was a teacher for 12 years in Alabama. Now he’s working on a doctorate in education researching LGBTQ issues in the classroom. As a child before he came out, he says he was bullied.
“Especially throughout junior high school — I mean it was bad,” he says. “I was constantly bullied – fag, sissy, homo – before I knew what some of those terms meant myself.”
Jinright wasn’t a fan charter schools, but he’s changed his mind on this one.
“When I see that in typical public schools we’re not necessarily doing the justice for all students, then there becomes a niche,” he says.
Keller says organizers plan to submit the charter school application this fall. She says they’re getting calls from people who want to work at the school or place their children on the waiting list. The new school could open as early as August 2020.
Chimps’ taste for fermented fruit hints at origins of human love of alcohol
Scientists analyzed the urine of wild chimpanzees who'd feasted on fallen fruit to see how much alcohol they consumed from the fermented sugars.
Iran attacks Israel, Gulf states, after naming new leader on Day 10 of war
The price of crude oil briefly neared $120 a barrel Monday as Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei the supreme leader and then launched new attacks at Israel and Gulf states.
World shares tumble as Iran war pushes crude prices over $110 a barrel
World shares tumbled on Monday, with Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunging more than 5%, after oil prices spiked at nearly $120 a barrel.
Millions more people are in the path of rising seas than previously thought
Oceans are rising as the climate changes, threatening coastal cities. A new study shows that much more of the world's population is vulnerable than earlier predictions had estimated.
Come along with some geese as they migrate back from their southern winter havens
Geese's iconic "V" formations and trademark squawks can be seen and heard overhead as they go back and forth to the south through the year. But what does it take for such a long trip?
Kids’ willpower is no match for fast food and screens. Try this instead
For decades, parents were told to help children build willpower like a muscle, to resist things like junk food and too much time on their screens. But new research suggests a better strategy.
