Chicago Officials
Back Opening Gay High School

Chicago public schools officials said Wednesday that they will support opening a high school dedicated to gay students, citing local and nationwide studies that show gay teens are more likely to drop out of school because of fear of violence.

According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, a 2003 district survey shows that gay and lesbian youths are three times more likely to miss school because they feel unsafe. The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network released a national survey of more than 6,000 middle and high school students on Wednesday that found that nearly 90% were harassed at school and about 61% felt unsafe.

Final approval for the Social Justice Pride Campus, which would be the first LGBT school in Chicago, is up to a vote by the board of education on October 22.

"We want to create great new options for communities that have been traditionally underserved," said school chief Arne Duncan. "If you look at national studies, you see gay and lesbian students with high dropout rates. ... I think there is a niche there we need to fill."

Fellow supporters said they anticipate the school will open in 2009 or 2010 and serve 600 students. Students would be admitted on a lottery basis.

Chad Weiden, currently an assistant principal at the Social Justice High School who would be principal at Pride Campus, said lessons about sexual identity would be incorporated in literature and history lessons.

Some gay rights advocates have argued that a gay high school would amount to segregation, and every high school throughout the city should work harder to cultivate acceptance. (The Advocate)