Our first ever GSA of the Year, Allies 4 Equality from Blake High School in Maryland, meets Cynthia Germanotta backstage before being presented with the award by her at our 2012 Respect Awards – New York!
Congrats again Allies for Equality!
Our first ever GSA of the Year, Allies 4 Equality from Blake High School in Maryland, meets Cynthia Germanotta backstage before being presented with the award by her at our 2012 Respect Awards – New York!
Congrats again Allies for Equality!
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#high school #Allie the Ally #James Hubert Blake #GSA #GSA of the Year #Cynthia Germanotta #Born This Way #Born This Way FoundationThree cheers for GLSEN’s GSA of the Year - the Academy for Young Writers GSA!
The 2016 GLSEN Respect Awards took place on the evening of May 23rd. The awards featured plenty of famous faces, including Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts, Empire executive producer Ilene Chaiken,Empire star Jussie Smollett, and LGBT activist Edie Windsor. But the real stars of the evening—as evidenced by the standing ovation following their acceptance—were the high school GSA students from the Academy for Young Writers.
H/T: Pride
We are #GLSENproud to honor Amber Schweitzer as the 2016 Educator of the Year and the Academy for Young Writers GSA as the 2016 GSA of the Year!
“Rounding out this year’s GLSEN Respect Awards honorees are an educator and GSA that exemplify what it means to create school climates in which all students succeed,” said Dr. Eliza Byard, GLSEN’s Executive Director. “Amber Schweitzer is an exemplary supportive educator whose inclusive curriculum, leadership and community involvement have had a significant impact on the lives of her students. She will join the stage with the GSA at the Academy for Young Writers, whose extraordinary work has encouraged a culture of respect for all in their community. Our research makes clear that it is educators like Amber and GSAs like the Academy for Young Writers that allow all students, including LGBT students, to succeed in school.“
Read more: http://glsen.us/1YjISSk
Do you know a Gay-Straight Alliance or similar student club that has accomplished amazing things this year? Tell us about the awesome things they are doing by nominating them for GLSEN’s 2016 GSA of the Year!
We’re excited to tell our stories as LGBT people of color—stories that are rarely told by the media but are so important to share. It sometimes feels like America doesn’t know that LGBT people of color are even living here. Where are our voices? Our stories? Our TV characters (with the exception of Laverne Cox, Jussie Smollett and a few others)? Our superheroes? Politicians (we can’t name any, can you?) At the GLSEN Respect Awards – New York, so many amazing people got to talk to us, learn our stories and hear the hard work we’ve been doing to make New York City public schools inclusive spaces for all LGBTQ young people.
Read more on the GLSEN Blog!
Applications and Nominations for our 2013 Gay-Straight Alliance of the Year Award close this Sunday at midnight.
2012 winners from Blake High School in Maryland share what it was like to win and why you should apply.
So what are you waiting for? Apply today – we want to hear about how you’re rocking out with your GSA/QSA to make things better at your school.
Rogers High School is in Spokane, WA. Their GSA was a finalist for the GSA of the Year 2013 award!
When I started high school, I already knew about the GSA here but I didn’t start going until the end of my Junior year. I was just so scared I wouldn’t be accepted for who I truly am (I am physically a girl but identify as a male). Since going, I have participated in my first Drag Show and have had people call me by the gender I prefer. I have met some amazing people, not only in our GSA but in the entire LGBT community. We have had some guest speakers (Members of the Spokane Imperial Court and Kris Wood, a Rogers grad who actually began the GSA here in the 1990′s) and I have learned that things do get better after high school, or even in high school.
One of my favorite activities we have done in our GSA is organizing the Day of Silence. When we set up our table in the commons and hand out ribbons and instructions, we got almost 300 participants!
I really see our fight against bullying succeeding. This also has helped in my own battle against bullying and harassment at our school. I don’t think I could have done it without the GSA at John R. Rogers High School.
In addition, I don’t think we could have been as successful as we have been at making our school and safe and accepting place for all without the help and leadership of GLSEN. They really helped shape who we are.
- Teddie, club secretary
I didn’t know what GSA was or even if we had one when I started here. So, my friend told me about the GSA at our school. I attended a meeting and after that day, I was a member, a part of a family, kind of scared of what would happen. But I always had the support of our advisor, Ms. Silvey. My first two years were rocky and we were really trying to just figure out what type of role we should have in our school. Up until we found GLSEN, we saw all the things we could do to reach out to our school and community.
We started with holiday parties (Valentine’s and Christmas) where we invited other high schools and even though we had a small turnout at first, we were starting to reach out and connect. During my junior year, I became Vice President. That was a huge step for me. I started being more involved with my club and our school. We started writing to teachers and other staff members and thanking them for supporting us. We also sent thank you notes to Starbucks for their support of Gay Marriage. We marched in the PRIDE Parade with a giant banner.
We were really becoming visible and the more visible we became, the more powerful we became.
Let’s just say the last four years in our GSA made me stronger and prouder, safer and truly loved. I couldn’t have even imagined that when I first got to Rogers I would be a part of this community. I can’t thank our Advisor, Ms.Silvey, enough for letting me join and Rogers High School for supporting our GSA
-Jessica, co-president
Hey guys,
So a couple of my friends and I started up a GSA at our high school this year and so far it is going absolutely amazingly! Everyone has been so accepting of it (We’re in a catholic school) and it’s wonderful.
I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas as to what we should do in the meetings and around the school in the upcoming months.
Movie suggestions, topics, activities or “spirit days” and stuff like that, anything helps really.
We’re just trying to keep this year a success. here’s a link to my ask box: http://underlying.tumblr.com/ask

In the rural town of Portland, TN, 1,200 teens go to the high school each day. While their parents are driving to work, and younger brothers/sisters learning the alphabet, our school club, Born This Way (BTW) is fighting for their self-image, equality, and a safer school climate. Nearly the entire school feels a need to change. There is a particular need to make Portland High School (PHS) a better school, but some never take the initiative to do so.
Once I felt this need, I jumped at the thought of changing the school and making it a better place. My best friend and I started Born This Way. We wanted to make it a very well-rounded club, therefore we included into our meetings components of individualism, anti-bullying, and equality. Once I heard about GLSEN Middle Tennessee’s Student Action & Empowerment Forum (SAEF 2012) my ears perked up because I knew there would be a vast amount of knowledge for me to gain from this event! Just in the first few hours of being there I learned so much! My knowledge grew about the LGTBQ community, social justice, conflict resolution, and so much more!
When I left this event and returned to my BTW club sponsor, I was overwhelmed with the things to inform her about! Not only did I learn things from the GLSEN chapter leaders, I also learned things from the other exceptional students that attended. We discussed things like Ally Weekand the Day Of Silence; since these are GLSEN-sponsored events, we have planned a shared calendar for all GSAs* in Middle Tennessee, so that we all will be focusing on these same events and get support from our GLSEN chapter! This, alone, is priceless to me because now I have a vast amount of people standing behind me to organize around these events!
Taking everything that I have learned at SAEF 2012 and trying to summarize it would be exceptionally hard. The open environment, friendly people, and terrific GLSEN swag made this more than worthwhile to me. It was like a whole new world has been opened up that has been lying hidden for so long. I feel sort of like an adventurer that has just found the long lost treasure! Just two days with these people makes me want to do so much more; the priceless knowledge and some breathtaking new friends also made this a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I cannot wait to commence this work in my school!
I believe PHS is just a few steps from acceptance, and with SAEF 2012 it’s now on the right track!
If you would like to learn more about GLSEN Middle Tennessee and to apply to be a part of their Jump-Start student organizing team, please visit their website here.
Resources to help get you back to school:
Ally Week – Celebrate amazing allies in creating safer schools for all students!
Day of Silence - a day where we recognize the silence many LGBT youth across the country face on a daily basis
Jump-Start Guide - Find out ways in which you can create and support a GSA in your school
GLSEN Chapters – Find a chapter in your area that can provide on-the-ground support to your GSA, or find out how you can start one!
Sultana High School is censoring and discriminating against its Gay-Straight Alliance. The Hesperia, CA school is limiting the GSA from using LGBT-inclusive language and participating in activities like GLSEN’s Day of Silence and Ally Week.
Today is the first school day since news broke last week during Spring Break that the ACLU of Southern California sent a letter demanding the school district stop discriminating against the school’s GSA.
Tell them that they are not alone
As they return to school today, the GSA members could face retaliation for their decision to stand up to their school district.
Along with our partners at the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, It Gets Project, and the California-based GSA Network, we want to send a clear message to Sultana High GSA members as they head back to school:
We are proud of you and we’ve got your back.
Will you join us? Click here to send your own message to the brave LGBT students and allies.
They believe that every student deserves to be safe and treated with respect, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Help us show them that people all across the country stand with them against discrimination.
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Before we get on with the post, it’s important to note that these are two groups of diverse people who are very unique in many ways! However, in light of the month, (and mainly due to the fact that a lot of the resources available online are for both groups), here is a compilation of resources for Asian and Pacific Islander LGBTQ+ people! Other masterposts can be found here (and don’t hesitate to add anything if you have resources to contribute)!
GLSEN Pages:
Other organizations:
Historical information from the US National Park Service:
Some LGBTQ+ Asian/Pacific Islander Creators:
Other Helpful/Informational Links:
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Before we get on with the post, it’s important to note that these are two groups of diverse people who are very unique in many ways! However, in light of the month, (and mainly due to the fact that a lot of the resources available online are for both groups), here is a compilation of resources for Asian and Pacific Islander LGBTQ+ people! Other masterposts can be found here (and don’t hesitate to add anything if you have resources to contribute)!
GLSEN Pages:
Other organizations:
Historical information from the US National Park Service:
Some LGBTQ+ Asian/Pacific Islander Creators:
Other Helpful/Informational Links: