Obama's Pick for Education Secretary Backed Chicago Gay School

President-elect Barack Obama's choice for education secretary supported a proposal this year for a Chicago public high school that would be geared to gay students. Arne Duncan, the Chicago school superintendent, approved plans for the Pride Campus of Social Justice High School, which was ultimately pulled by organizers at the last minute before a scheduled November vote by the school board.

President-elect Barack Obama's choice for education secretary supported a proposal this year for a Chicago public high school that would be geared to gay students.

Arne Duncan, the Chicago school superintendent, approved plans for the Pride Campus of Social Justice High School, which was set to be voted on by the school board in November, only to be pulled by organizers at the last minute after controversy.

Duncan, CEO of Chicago Public Schools since 2001, was nominated by Obama for the cabinet post at a press conference Tuesday morning, CNN reports.

The 44-year-old Harvard graduate helped write the president-elect's education platform and has frequently advised him on educational matters, according to TheNew York Times.

"In June, bolstered by grim statistics, a group of Chicago teachers, administrators, and education experts presented a groundbreaking proposal to the Chicago public school board: A new Pride Campus, affiliated with the existing Social Justice High School, eventually serving 400 to 600 students, would provide a safe and accepting place for LGBT kids and their allies," Jessica Reaves writes in the current issue of The Advocate. "The public charter school would have been only the third of its kind in the country, after Milwaukee’s Alliance School and New York City’s Harvey Milk High School."

But the proposal was criticized by both conservatives and gay activists, who claimed it amounted to segregation. In response, organizers altered the school's mission to include all students who faced harassment, but then decided the change watered down the original idea. They've vowed to retool the proposal and bring it back for a vote in 2009. (Advocate.com)

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Name: Adrian
Date posted: 12/18/2008 5:39:00 AM
Hometown: Northridge, CA

Comment:
I like a fair minded leader like Duncan. However, the reason of opening a special school for LGBT students is not the best moved. It does not address the real problem in the school with their homophobia. We have to focus on fighting the homophobia on every aspect and level of life. Make laws or regulations to protect LGBT students from being bullied is more make sense to me. LGBT students are not leprosy that need to be isolated in a special school. We should not run away from the problems but we need to face and solve them together.
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Name: Michael
Date posted: 12/17/2008 6:45:00 AM
Hometown: Sacramento

Comment:
Jen, how many queer kids' suicides are you willing to accept while waiting for mainstream schools to change?
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Name: Tina
Date posted: 12/17/2008 1:10:00 AM
Hometown: Milwaukee

Comment:
As the Lead Teacher at The Alliance School in Milwaukee, I have seen first-hand the difference that a safe environment can make for students. In this safe space, I have seen young people grow and achieve in ways that were never possible when they were facing abuse and hostility every day in school. I applaud Arne Duncan for his sincere concern for all of our youth and his willingness to support bold efforts to make real change.
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Name: jen
Date posted: 12/16/2008 4:42:00 PM
Hometown: tacoma

Comment:
the concept of a safe haven school for glbt kids is an excellent one, however i think it's too isolating. the point is not to segregate these kids further, but to make alternative sexualities more accepted in mainstream schools. obviously that is a more difficult task, but so was fully integrating african american kids into the nation's schools. without diminishing the pain and suffering african american kids went through decades ago (and in many cases, today), segregation of glbt students would probably be much like it was when segregation of schools by race was enforced: separate but (un)equal.
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Name: Daniel
Date posted: 12/16/2008 3:36:00 PM
Hometown: New Hope, PA

Comment:
Well at least we know that Duncan is not one of those types who denies that LGBT face problems in school above and beyond those common to all kids.

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