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LGBTQ+ History Month:  October 2024

LGBTQ+ History Month began with a 1994 high school history lesson in which Missouri teacher Rodney Wilson came out to his class. Wilson, who became the first out gay teacher in Missouri, would go on to found “Gay History Month,” which would eventually become the October celebration of LGBTQ+ History Month we know today. During LGBTQ+ History Month we celebrate, affirm, and highlight the deep history and significant achievements of the LGBTQ+ community in our schools, our community, and our country. National Coming Out Day, which celebrates and supports the coming out of LGBTQ+ people, is celebrated on October 11.

At the December 9, 2020 Berkeley Unified School District (sm��̳) School Board meeting, the Board of Education approved a Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Student Policy that fosters an educational environment from PreK through Adult Education that is safe, welcoming, and free from stigma and discrimination for all students, regardless of gender identity or expression. The Policy facilitates compliance with local, state and federal laws concerning bullying, harassment, privacy, and discrimination, and ensures that all sm��̳ students have the opportunity to express themselves and live authentically.

LGBTQ+ Reading Lists

Please take some time to review the District’s and . Updated in the spring of 2022, these grade-level reading lists focus on the richness of the LGBTQ+ experience.

LGBTQ+ Resources

 

 

Lifting Up sm��̳ Staff LGBTQ+ Voices

In celebration of our LGBTQ+ community, this year sm��̳ has continued “Lifting Up LGBTQ+ Voices,” a campaign to share our staff LGBTQ+ narratives with our students and community by creating posters featuring the stories and experiences of LGBTQ+ staff. In October, these posters will be displayed at schools, work sites, on the sm��̳ website, in social media, and in district publications. Sharing these narratives with our students will allow them to deepen connections with LGBTQ+ adults in the district.