Over the past three decades, much of the conversation about LGBTQ students in schools has centered on safety--anti-bullying policies, the "safe space" of gay-straight alliances, and "safe zones" marked by rainbow-colored stickers on classroom doors. In this article, Michael Sadowski argues that it's time to move beyond safety…

"Safe Is Not Enough" illustrates how educators can support the positive development of LGBTQ students in a comprehensive way so as to create truly inclusive school communities. Using examples from classrooms, schools, and districts across the country, Michael Sadowski identifies emerging practices such as creating an LGBTQ-inclusive…

Describes the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) at a high school in Canton (Massachusetts), a school-sanctioned student organization that gives gay and straight students a safe place to discuss sexual orientation issues. The GSA serves as a forum for educating students and can be a base for larger community education efforts. (SLD)

Based on a broader qualitative study of organizational level changes in schools participating in Massachusetts' Safe Schools Program, the authors describe four roles that GSAs played in the twenty-two schools: counseling and support; "safe" space; primary vehicle for raising awareness, increasing visibility, and educating about LGBT…

Scratch the surface of a successful school and you will find a web of interactions that is the root of its success. Who is it that envisions, inspires, cajoles, and rallies all the various players in and around a school toward any improvement goal? Often it's a superintendent, a principal, a professor, a special teacher, or a parent. In a word,…

The Massachusetts Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth prepared its first annual report on various issues of concern to homosexual youth. The Commission seeks to work on prevention of youth suicide, violence prevention, and prevention of problems faced by young homosexuals in schools and the family. The Commission sought information from a series…