Support Services for LGBTQ Youth - SFUSD Student Support Services Department

Voices from our Schools

Morgan

Peer Resource Coordinator at Abraham Lincoln High School

Q. What are you doing to create a safer school community for LGBTQ students?

This is my first year doing GSA and being the support liason. We started doing weekly club meetings. So far we’ve been addressing issues. Were trying a lot of fun things to try and build up club registration day. We got about 60 people to sign up which is good for a big school; were about 2500 students. We’ve been having 20 to 25 people show to our lunch meetings, and we feed them too. Last week we watched a movie, the name escapes me, but it was an animated short that was screened at the Asian-American film festival and at Frameline. After the film we had a discussion. At Lincoln, I have a space in my classroom, which is actually a converted makeup room behind the stage and I’m very passionate about creating a safe space and having ground rules at all times in the space. Peer resource is an elective program within the social justice curriculum. I’m lucky because I don’t have to teach the standards, I’m able to sort of form my own curriculum based around and include a lot of issues like oppression, that LGBTQ students face. I’m able to do that both in my classroom and in the space, where students are free to hang out at lunch and sometimes after school. I also do a lot of confrontations in the in the hallway about language because that’s pretty prevalent. I coach football as well. It’s my first year doing that but I’m trying to create a more accepting culture on the field and in the locker room. One student came out last year and quit this year because of harassment. That doesn’t surprise me though he had to do what was best for him. Football is traditionally a very masculine, hetero, “don’t be a pussy,” kind of atmosphere so that unfortunately, was not a very accepting environment for him.

Q. How has the school climate changed since the beginning of your LGBTQ work?

I’ve only been there for one school year, but I think I’m just another teacher, The person who did my job before me was very active as well, but I don’t know that it’s changed any yet.

Q. What would you like to do better this year?

I would like to do a professional development session with teachers about how to address things like language. They have these breakout sessions that are an hour and a half every Thursday, I’ve heard some things about that. I didn’t know there was a website with one page info about stuff like that. I think transforming faculty will be the first step because they are the biggest barrier. They are the ones who are most entrenched in their beliefs, and what they do and do not do. Even if their beliefs are one way actually getting them to be active in changing the school culture is another thing entirely. That’s my biggest goal for the school year. Change the way that faculty addresses LGBTQ issues. Specifically, language around campus., that’s the easiest thing to talk with teachers about because it’s the most obvious, and it’s not a good thing. I think teachers want to know how to address it and I need to develop how I address it as well.