Welcoming Schools Partners with Respect for All Project
The HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools program is partnering with GroundSpark’s Respect For All Project to support a new generation of educators working to break the silence around LGBT issues and take action to change school climates.
Ten years after releasing the original It’s Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School, GroundSpark has created an engaging follow-up documentary that tells the extraordinary history of why the film was made, the response it provoked from the conservative right, and the questions it raises about the national safe schools movement today. It’s STILL Elementary is an inspiring call to action for those that lack the tools and courage to address the prejudice that limits the healthy development of all youth and their families.
The HRC Foundation cosponsored the film’s autumn premieres at Columbia University Teacher’s College in New York City, and the National Education Association in Washington, DC. Welcoming Schools Advisory Committee member Aimee Gelnaw welcomed a packed house of 200 to Columbia University in October, recognizing that It’s Elementary, “has changed lives, opened hearts and shed light on ways to address equality in schools.” Following the screening, Doug Robinson, also a member of the Advisory Committee, participated in a panel discussion about the safe schools movement.
It’s STILL Elementary will be available in January on DVD along with the original film and a newly created 125-page guide with lesson plans, organizing tips, and strategies for addressing anti-LGBT bias among young children. For more information, visit http://www.groundspark.org/.