Grand Erie celebrates Pride month
Throughout the month of June, students and staff across Grand Erie will celebrate Pride Month. Pride month is a time for us to centre the voices of our 2SLBTQ+ students, parents and staff who identify as part of this community, and celebrate their contributions toward making our schools safer and more inclusive spaces for everyone.
All Grand Erie schools have a Pride flag and will be encouraged to display their flag prominently, not only this month, but throughout the school year. We are also in the process of updating our Pride flag to the Progressive flag.
In Grand Erie, we have made great gains in the area of supporting our 2SLGBTQ+ youth, but we still have much work to do. In our 2019 student census, students who identified as part of the 2SLGBTQ+ community reported having poorer school experiences than their cisgender, heterosexual peers. We know that for many of our students, school is not an emotionally safe space to be. As adults, we need to think about how we are creating safety in our learning spaces.
Ask yourself: How would my students/colleagues/parent community know that I am open to their identity? How am I making the learning space safe for people of all identities? What conversations do we need to have as a class to address the importance of safe learning spaces?
Resources:
Please view the resources available for students, families and staff below with more information and ways to participate in Pride month.
- Grand Erie’s “Celebrating Diversity Series” features Matt’s story, and his experience as a youth who identifies as transgender. Watch as he shares his empowering story and lived experiences
- Learn more about the history of 2SLGBTQ+ from a human rights perspective, including how laws have changed and how current policies in government reflect changes in attitudes and beliefs in society
- Learn about terminology and concepts using some of the terms from the glossary to talk about some of the ways that we can distinguish identities through the use of correct language. Learn about the different pronouns that are part of our language now (e.g. they, theirs), and why it is important to use the correct gender pronouns
- 519 COVID-19 Resources: (519 is a resource hub for supporting 2SLGBTQ+)
- Watch the following YouTube videos for more information: