PFLAG NYC partnered with the New York City Department of Education and the City Council to put on Safe Schools Program events in New York City schools during "Respect for All Week," which ran March 8 through 12. During this week, all schools were expected to put on events to raise awareness about diversity and draw attention to effort to combat bullying and harassment in the schools based on sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as other personal characteristics such as race, religion, gender, or national origin.

During the week, PFLAG NYC visited four schools and spoke with more than 400 students. Fourteen volunteer speakers from our Safe Schools Program took part. The events started early Monday morning with a presentation to the student leadership team of 40 students at the High School for Environmental Studies in Manhattan. Dale Bernstein and Kate Hathaway talked about their families' experiences with children who came out. During the discussion that followed, one student asked for advice on helping her parents come to terms with a sister who just came out. PFLAG NYC's school programs so often help straight students as much as LGBT young people. One in three families include someone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, so homophobia and transphobia affect many straight people.

Changing the Climate in Schools

John Mazzei, a PFLAG NYC Safe Schools Program volunteer, talks with vocational students at Jane Addams H.S.

Later the same day, speakers fanned out to two other schools, both in the Soundview section of the Bronx. Aundaray Guess, an anti-stigma trainer from Gay Men of African Descent who joins PFLAG NYC is the schools, was a featured speaker at an assembly for 200 junior-high students at Albert Einstein School. Other speakers gave the first of two days of presentations at Bronx Community High School. PFLAG NYC's has brought its Safe Schools Program to BCHS two years in a row. After our first visit, BCHS started a gay-straight alliance and this year's visit showed an improved climate in the school for LGBT students. Long-term partnerships with schools, like PFLAG NYC is developing with BCHS, are so important for creating lasting change in a school's environment. After we spoke this year, one BCHS student wrote, "I like that [PFLAG speakers] are so open with us. It makes people more understanding. I've learned to watch what I say and respect people."

Giving Voice to Allies in Schools

On Wednesday at Jane Addams H.S. in Melrose, PFLAG NYC spoke with 75 students in the school library. Not only did PFLAG speakers share their personal stories, but they created an environment in which many members of the Jane Addams school community could talk honestly and movingly about the LGBT loved ones in their lives. A highlight of the event was when one respected school staff member talked about having a lesbian mother. Sharing her experience growing up in the same neighborhood as the school with same-sex parents was eye-opening for the students. LGBT students in the audience found a new ally in the school.

"Respect for All Week" formally ends on March 12, but PFLAG NYC's presentations will continue. Schools are being encouraged to continue the Respect for All events regularly, and PFLAG NYC has commitments to visit many more schools in coming weeks. Come back to pflagnyc.org to read about those events!

Read more about the PFLAG NYC Safe Schools Program here
or to inquire about a Safe Schools event at your school, call PFLAG NYC at 646-403-3197 or email safeschools@pflagnyc.org.