Chicago Public Schools Considers School for GLBT Students

By Matt Simonette
Staff writer, The Chicago Free Press

A proposal recently submitted to Chicago Public Schools opens the possibility of a high school largely dedicated to GLBT students in the city.

The Greater Lawndale Little Village School for Social Justice has submitted a proposal for a Pride Campus to the CPS’ Office of New Schools. The proposal has been in development since Spring 2008, and a decision from CPS as to whether the plan can go forward is expected by October.

William Greaves, spokesman for the advisory team who put together the proposal, said the school has been envisioned as being similar to other magnet or charter schools located in Chicago. A location has not been determined.

“My personal hope would be a central location where students would have equal access and can get there quickly and safely,” Greaves said.

CPS, he added, has not yet given the group any feedback.

“They are evaluating the proposal. We’ve gone through three of the four major review processes,” Greaves said.

The next step is a public forum to solicit public feedback on the school. It’s scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 18, from 6-8 p.m. at the Center on Halsted in Lakeview.

CPS spokesperson Malon Edwards said officials are evaluating the proposal, and that it would go forward if it “was a strong and solid proposal. We are looking for high quality proposals and we are looking for diverse ideas for schools.”

Edwards said that CPS Office of New Schools usually receives about 50 proposals a year but does not approve a specific number of them.

Greaves, who is Mayor Richard M. Daley’s GLBT community liaison and director of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations’ Advisory Council on LGBT Issues, said Daley’s office is not involved with the proposal, but “they are aware of the process.”

Greaves said the proposed school is not intended to isolate GLBT youth, but, rather, would be “an important addition to the community.” He also emphasized that the existence of such a school would not alleviate CPS of its responsibilities to GLBT students who choose to remain in other schools.

Stacy Horn, of the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, sits on the advisory team and agreed with that point. No matter the benefits of having a school with a primarily GLBT student population, Horn said, CPS needs to enforce its anti-discrimination policies, allow GLBT student groups and provide trainings for faculty and staff. Research evidence, she said, has proven that those help create a less toxic atmosphere for students.

The advisory team for the proposed new school also includes representatives from the 44th Ward of Chicago, Broadway Youth Center, Center on Halsted, Hetrick-Martin Institute and Lambda Legal.

This article was reprinted with permission from the Chicago Free Press. For more information visit http://www.chicagofreepress.com.