GLBT equity in schools

In 1954 the landmark Supreme Court decision known as Brown v. Board catapulted the education community and society as a whole into a civil rights and equal rights movement that would carry us into the 2l century. As the civil rights movement gathered momentum in the 1960s, another oppressed group began to emerge and with the Stonewall Riots of 1968 the gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender (GLBT) movement took hold (Harbeck 1998, Lugg, 2003, Valdes, 1998). The GLBT movement did not have a significant outward impact on education, however, until the 1980s and 1990s when GLBT students and their parents began to demand equal rights and protection against verbal and physical abuse in the schools (Harbeck, 1998; Nabozny v. Podlesny, 1996). It was during this time that the GLBT population became recognized as a unique sexual culture unto its own and a protected group by the federal government and in many states (Harbeck, 1998; Lugg, 2003; Valdes, 1998).

Capper (1993) refers to individuals that have been stripped of power and play a subordinate role in society as “persons along the axis of oppression.” GLBT educators and youth have fallen into that category. Despite the 35-year struggle for equity and the significant strides that have been made, GLBT educators and students continue to be scorned, feared, and abused on a daily basis in our schools (Harbeck, 1998; Nabozny v. Podlesny, 1996). If equity, and an environment that is conducive to learning and achievement, is to exist in our schools, the cloak of oppression and discrimination must be lifted from persons of differing sexual orientation/identity.

Outcomes

There are many outcomes that could change the current condition and decrease the oppression felt by GLBT students. These outcomes, however, seem to be hierarchal in nature, and in order to reach a solution that will ameliorate the present situation, we must begin at the building level. It is at this level that change will have the greatest potential for being effective, meaningful, and lasting.

A starting point in improving and creating a safe environment for our GLBT students is to facilitate the development of a healthy awareness and acceptance of cultural diversity. This must begin with an awareness of cross-cultural similarities and differences, and would lead to increased cultural sensitivity. The ability to perceive similarities and differences is essential in moving toward acceptance because, “perceiving similarities leads to a basis for interaction; perceiving differences leads to a basis for out-group rejection” (Brislin, 1981). Cross-cultural interaction, therefore, appears to be a critical component of creating a safe learning environment for all students.

Positive change model

The St. Paul School District’s Out For Equity model, which addresses and supports the needs of GLBT staff and students, will play a pivotal role and serve as the primary change agent. This model will incorporate students, staff, administration, site council, and parents throughout the change process with the initial focus on staff development and dissemination of information to the site council and parents. If school-wide change is to occur, it must have the support of all stakeholders.

The first step will be to gain the support of the site council and parents by demonstrating the need for this change and presenting a detailed plan of the change process. They will be asked and encouraged to provide input and take an active role in refining and implementing the change model. Due to the highly controversial nature of this change, the site council will be asked to actively solicit parent and community support. Site council members will also be invited and encouraged to participate in all staff development activities as they pertain to the change process.

The next step will be to reach out to parents and the community for their support. This will be done through a series of informational meetings to be held the spring preceding the implementation of this change. These meetings will be co-facilitated by district and building Out For Equity staff, as well administration. The meetings will demonstrate the need for change, outline the change process, provide examples of the curriculum and activities that will be utilized, and address concerns. The parents and community members will be assured that the school is not preaching sexual orientation/identity difference as the norm, but rather as a specific domestic culture that must be recognized and accepted into our school culture if we are to have a safe learning environment for all students.

Staff development is critical when moving toward acceptance of differences (Mark French, personal interview, October, 2002). Staff will undergo intense cross-cultural training during the opening week, which will incorporate a multimedia approach and group discussion. The cross-cultural curriculum provided by Out For Equity will focus on GLBT issues in adolescents and recognize GLBT persons as members of a specific domestic culture. Training will continue on a monthly basis or more frequently if deemed necessary. Staff will also be provided with ongoing support by building administration and the district and building Out For Equity staff.

Students will be introduced to the concept of cross-cultural diversity through a multimedia approach which will include live interactive performances by the CLIMB Theatre. The CLIMB presentation will consist of two-weeks of interactive performances on the topic of cross-cultural differences. These will be presented to all students in their social studies classes and certain other classes for students that do no have social studies. CLIMB will also be available to consult with staff throughout the day and staff will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive performance during a staff meeting. During the second week, CLIMB will provide an evening interactive performance for parents, families, and community members.

Following the CLIMB introduction, staff will implement the cross-cultural curriculum. This curriculum will be taught one day per week in all advisory classes. A major component of the curriculum will be the celebration of differences between and among cultures (e.g., gender, racial, ethnic, religious, sexual orientation). Although the curriculum will only be taught one day per week, its basic philosophy and principles will be practiced and adhered to on a daily basis.

The district Out For Equity staff will assist administration and staff in providing a safe environment for our GLBT students. We will expand and strengthen our current building Out For Equity program, known as safe staff through recruitment, greater dissemination of information, and collegial support. The safe staff program will be highly visible so that students will be able to recognize the safe staff symbol and understand that it represents a staff member with whom they may safely talk about their sexuality.

Finally, we will work together with the district Out For Equity staff to implement a support group for our GLBT students. This group will meet on a weekly basis during the school day. It will also meet on a rotating schedule in order that students do not consistently miss the same class period. The meetings will be led by a building-level counselor and facilitated by a district Out For Equity staff member. To provide consistency, develop trusting relationships, and protect the rights and privacy of the students, the leader and facilitator will remain the same throughout the school year. The group will be open to any student that is openly “out,” remains “closeted,” is questioning their sexuality, or is a gay/straight ally. The primary rule will be enforced at all times; the privacy of all participants must be respected at all times.

Evaluation criteria

An internal, formative evaluation will be conducted to determine the success of our program during implementation. It will be considered a formative evaluation because it will be conducted during the implementation process and used for program improvement (Worthen & Sanders, 1987). The evaluation will also be ongoing to allow for modifications to be made as needed. Although we will use a formative versus a summative evaluation, the information gathered will be an indicator as to whether or not we are moving in the desired direction to achieve or goal.

Our overarching goal is to create a healthy environmnet for our GLBT students through awareness and acceptance of cultural diversity. For this reason, the following three questions will be the focus of the evaluation:

1. To what degree have the attitudes of staff and students moved toward acceptance of GLBT individuals?
2. To what degree has the bullying and verbal/physical abuse of GLBT students decreased over the school year and from the previous year?
3. To what degree has the participation by staff and students in the building Out For Equity program increased over the school year?

Pre- and post-measures

A pre- and post-measure will be completed to assess the change in staff and student attitudes, if any. The stakeholders will examine several tools that purport to measure attitude change. One such instrument is the Intercultural Developmental Inventory (IDI) developed by Hammer & Bennett (1998). The IDI is based on the premise that as one develops and expands his/her cultural diversity, the potential for competent cross-cultural interaction increases (Bennett, 1993). The IDI purports to measure change in attitude from denial and disinterest to acceptance and integration. This scale will provide valuable baseline data, as well as inform us as to the degree of attitude change, even if minimal.

Baseline data for bullying and verbal/physical abuse will be gathered from the previous school year’s disciplinary records. Current data will be obtained from discipline referrals throughout the school year. The data collected will include the student’s grade, gender, ethnicity, and sexual status (i.e. out, questioning, ally), if known. This data will be important when identifying need areas. The data will be tabulated by the building Out For Equity coordinator on a monthly basis. Data will then be compared from month to month and current to previous year. Although this method is subjective and has several outside factors that could skew the results, the information will be valuable in assessing the success of the program following the first year of implementation and providing baseline data.

Baseline data for staff participation will be obtained at the beginning of the school year by the Out For Equity coordinator. The data collected will include the staff member’s name, position, gender, ethnicity, and age. As with disciplinary data, this information will be beneficial in identifying specific areas of need as it pertains to staff participation. This data will be gathered throughout the school year as staff members choose to participate in the safe staff program, or in some cases choose to leave the program. The data will be compared from month to month and beginning to end-of-year.

Baseline data may be more difficult to collect for students. Data collection will begin at the start of the school year and continue throughout the year on a weekly basis. Members of the safe staff program will be asked to keep an anonymous tally of the individual students that seek them out for assistance. The support group leader will keep a similar tally of the students that participate in the support group. The student data collected will include: grade, gender, ethnicity, sexual status (if known), and the number of times the student has met with a safe staff member or participated in the support group. This data will be given to the building Out For Equity coordinator on a weekly basis, in order to further protect the privacy of the students involved. The data will be compared from week to week, month to month, and beginning to year end.

The building Out For Equity coordinator will be responsible for tabulating and analyzing all data that comes to him/her regarding attitude change, bullying and verbal/physical abuse, and staff/student participation. The coordinator will also conduct several focus groups throughout the year in order to get feedback from students, staff, and parents on the implementation of the new curriculum and Out For Equity model. The coordinator will compile all data and put it in report form to present to administration and the Site Council at the end of the school year. The results of the evaluation will indicate the success of the first year of implementation.

Conclusion

It is difficult, but not impossible to bring about school-wide change. In order for change to occur, the voices of all stakeholders must be heard, and respected, which leads to collective ownership (Fullan, 2002). According to Fullan, collective ownership is important to the change process, but ongoing support is equally important. This is critical when dealing with issues that are highly controversial and emotionally charged. Sexual orientation/identity difference is one such issue. Strong and consistent support by district and building administration is essential if our GLBT students are to be accepted and a safe learning environment a reality.

Mary Denton completed her K-12 principal licensure through the administrative licensure program at the University of Minnesota and is currently finishing her director of special education licensure and Ed.D. dissertation on the impact of policy and law on the careers of GLBT administrators in the public school setting. Mary is a speech language pathologist at Battle Creek Middle School in St. Paul.