Framed by a queer theoretical perspective on the problem of heteronormativity in schools, this qualitative case study traces one teacher's journey of cultivating and enacting commitments to affirming gender and sexual diversity as she moved across contexts of teacher preparation and in-service teaching. Data informing analysis were collected over a period of two years. Findings report the significant challenges this teacher faced while practicing queer-inclusive pedagogy in her first year of service and the motivators that helped her endure. From this case, there is a great deal to be learned about the nature of support teachers might need, and the role educational researchers might play, in order to make good on recommendations for making schools safer for queer youth.