I’m amazed! An LGBTQ school has popped up in Georgia called the Pride School Atlanta. It is a safe space for LGBTQ kids. One new student, Josh Farabee, is about to start school there and he said:
“For me, the Pride School is kind of like a safe haven … I don’t have to worry about what names people may call me or what people would pull in the bathroom. It feels very much like a gift, like finally something amazing in the world.”
The school’s mission statement is:
“Our Mission is to provide LGBTQQIAA* students, families and educators a safe, fun and rigorous learning environment free of homophobia and transphobia — a place that honors their identities so they can be themselves, find themselves, and find friends and mentors who can help them navigate the challenges of life and education.”
*Lesbian, Gay, Bi-attracted, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Ally (that means anyone who wants to find a home here!)”
Back in May, they announced that the school will get gender-neutral bathrooms.
Their director and co-founder, Christian Zsilavets, said:
“I firmly believe that bringing trans rights to the forefront — that we’re totally ready for it … Now we can start taking care of our trans youth especially.”
“We have created a school where everybody gets to be themselves!”
Many LGBT students in the South fear that they have to go up north to be accepted for who they are. Hopefully, putting this school in Atlanta will help these kids.
The programs director of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Ross Murray, said:
“They should be able to stay in their homes, their communities. I think having a school like this in Atlanta … it means it’s much more regionally connected. If a student does need a place where they can be safe from bullying, from peers who want to harass or harm them, they’re not going to have to travel tons of distance to do that.”
This is a great idea to protect LGBTQ students who are being targeted in regular schools. Every child does better academically if they feel like the belong, and they have plenty of classmates with similar situations. It can be very lonely to be the only different one in an entire room full of people.
Here is a little video about the school:
Featured Image; Screenshot Via YouTube Video.
