![]() ![]() Thea Person, who uses she/they pronouns and is a junior at Homer High School, said she has experienced “hostility” toward LGBTQ+ students while at school and said students deserve to learn without feeling like they have to hide their identities. The board also heard from LGBTQ+ students in the district, who shared stories about experiencing and witnessing bullying toward the community and who spoke about the support that designated “safe spaces” provide. One does not teach inclusion by singling a group out … we should rally around the denominators that truly bind us all together.” “Taking them down does not make a space unsafe. “A flag does not make an environment safe,” Culbertson said. While several people who testified said they supported clear symbols of inclusion in schools, Ryan Culbertson, a parent from Sterling, said the district should place more emphasis on flags that represent everyone, such as the American and Alaskan flags. “Our strength is our diversity, a shelter from adversity,” a line from the book says. KPBSD Itinerant Counselor Natali Jones read Alexandra Penfold’s 2018 children’s book “All Are Welcome,” which she said is the type of acceptance she wants to see for KPBSD students. That committee met for the first time last week and is chaired by Tamra Wear, the librarian at Soldotna High School.Īmong the people who voiced their support for the district’s LGBTQ+ community during testimony given Monday were district staff members, community members and students. Those incidents prompted the creation of a Human Civil Rights Committee by the Kenai Peninsula Borough Education Association, the union representing the district’s teachers and certified staff. ![]() Several incidents of bullying or exclusion toward LGBTQ+ students were reported in October that ranged from the removal of pride flags at Homer High School and allegations of censorship of books about LGBTQ+ issues at Seward High School. The testimony came on the heels of a tumultuous month for the district as it relates to LGBTQ+ students. The acronym is sometimes lengthened with an “I” or “A” to include intersex and asexual people. LGBTQ+ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and others who do not identify as heterosexual or cisgender. Treatment of LGBTQ+ students within the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District dominated public testimony during the Board of Education’s Monday night meeting, where multiple staff and students advocated for the district’s LGBTQ+ community. ![]()
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