School for Social Justice Pride Campus

Chicago, IL. - This 100 student public school was created in 1985 in reaction to the extreme harassment and drop-out rates of homosexual students in public schools. Today, the school is aspiring to expand its small 100 student population to a 600 student campus; welcoming all who were severely harassed and bullied in regular public schools. This school gives these kids an opportunity to learn, when prior, they were too afraid to attend school.

A similar high school, "The Harvey Milk High School", "boasts a graduation rate of 95 percent of its students -- all of whom were at risk of or had dropped out -- well above the city average of 52 percent."

The Pride Campus follows the same curriculum as neighboring districts, however, they also "incorporate lessons about, sexual identity in history and literature classes, officials said."

"It's about creating another option for kids," Edelman said. "When it comes down to it, though, it is all about having a choice and providing high-quality options for students, whether they are gay or not."

Many residents do not approve of this school based on religious or other personal reasons. Others fear that if students are not mixed, acceptance will not be created. The founder and director of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) completely agrees with the need of acceptance:

"Absolutely, we should work for [acceptance] across the board," said Jennings, the GLSEN executive director. "But it's not going to change overnight, and in the meantime, these kids aren't going to graduate."

"The most important factor, according to the GLSEN study, is the existence of a state law that protects students from harassment based on their sexual orientation."

"If we keep doing nothing, we are going to keep getting these horrifying levels of harassment, greater rates of skipping, not going to college and more tragic violence like the murder of Lawrence King," he said. "Those are our choices. We can continue to do nothing, and we know the results, or we can save young people's lives and offer them an education and a future."


Here is the full article:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/10/13/gay.friendly.school/index.html