The Chicago School Board is set to vote October 22 on the opening of 17 new schools, including the "School for Social Justice Pride Campus, according to the Tribune. The school has received the support of most public school system leaders in Chicago, who argue that research shows that lgbt students face a difficult time in high school, dropping out at a higher than average rate and missing school for fear of violence.
The debate still rages on the sidelines that if such a school is opened, it will ghettoize lgbt students, lightening the burden on all schools to make themselves safe for all students.
I can't help but still feel that such a school--with no more than 600 students drawn by lottery--would, rather than ghettoizing queer kids, give them a secure setting in which to learn the history of sexual minorities, find out about the kind of work being done to further queer liberation in our culture and from which to take strong youth leadership roles in the community. So many queer youth grow up in a vaccuum, not knowing the history of struggle for justice for "their" people and hearing themselves referred to only in perjorative ways.
A district that prioritizes the needs of these students so much as to open a campus to serve them specifically is making a statement about the value of these kids and their potential for unique contributions to society. I do hope that having the school in the district will make for more inclusive curricula in all the schools. With only 600 slots available at the Pride campus, plenty of queer kids will still find themselves mainstreamed into general student populations. And it's not only lgbt kids who need to learn about lgbt issues, it's the kids who toss "that's so gay" around without thinking.
Watch this space for an update after the vote in a couple of weeks.
Also on this topic:
LGBT "Magnet" Schools: Help or Hurt?
