North dons its gay apparel - Transgender, Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian Awareness Day (PARENT ALERT)

North dons its gay apparel
By David Ertischek / Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 16, 2003

Usually at 7:50 on a high school morning, sleepy faces struggle to keep their heads up. But last Wednesday at the Newton North Little Theatre, all eyes were focused on four speakers leading a panel titled "Life Outside the Gender Norm."

The panel was one of six events occurring during Newton North's Annual Transgender, Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian Awareness Day, known as ToBGLAD Day.

ToBGLAD Day has sparked protest in the past from some Newton parents who say they're not adequately informed about the day's events and that it puts their children in uncomfortable situations.

But Newton North Principal Jennifer Huntington said that although agendas for ToBGLAD are not sent out to parents beforehand, they are notified about the day, and all other cultural awareness days, in a packet that is sent out during the summer. Parents are told in the packet to send a note to their child's housemaster if they do not want them to attend any of the year's events.

Huntington said she received only one parental complaint about ToBGLAD Day this year, no student complaints, and fielded some parental inquiries into how their child could be excused. She said she did not know how many students chose to not attend the day's activities.

"I think it's odd that other schools don't have gay or straight alliance groups," said Huntington. "My fundamental belief for education is that you need to be safe and comfortable. And if you have people calling you names while walking down the hall, you're not going to feel safe."

But Mary Clossey, parent of a Newton North student who has been a prominent critic of ToBGLAD Day and has attended the event for the past five years, said that although she thought this year's ToBGLAD was run better than in years past, she said the event should be held after school or on the weekend, because it is sponsored by an extra-curricular club.

"Social clubs should be after school," she said. "And I would like a notice [of the agenda] sent out to parents. I don't think that's wrong."

Huntington said that she doesn't send out agendas for other cultural days such as those sponsored by the Asian culture club, the Jewish culture club or the Black Leadership Association. Because events are held in the Little Theatre, which sits only 175 students, attendance of each event is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

At one of the seminars, former Newton North student Michael Greenspan spoke about what it's like to be transgender, defined by the Gay Student Alliance's literature as someone who is differently sexed, differently gendered or anyone who transgresses gender norms.

Another panel presented what it's like to live in a family where one or more family member is non-heterosexual. The panel also discussed the legal challenges faced by lesbian and gay couples.

Father Walter Cuenin, a priest at Our Lady Help of Christian's Church in Nonantum, and Rabbi Toba Spitzer from the Dorshei Tzedek Jewish Congregation in West Newton, also led a discussion about how people of different faiths deal with issues of sexual identity.

During his panel, Greenspan said he was raised as a girl, but always viewed himself as a boy. He didn't want to wear dresses or play with dolls, instead taking part in more traditionally masculine pastimes such as playing with cars and watching sports.

It wasn't until Michael's freshman year at Newton North that he heard the word transgender, and right away he knew that he fit that description.

"I thought to myself, 'Oh, my God, I can be a boy,'" said Michael, who dresses like a man.

Michael described cutting his hair and seeing himself as a man for the first time. " That was actually the first time I ever liked myself when I looked in a mirror," he told students.

Michael, now 22, said he started taking testosterone at the age of 18 and described the results as "fantastic" after hearing his voice deepen as he went through a belated puberty. Michael added that he is soon to have chest reconstruction surgery to remove his breasts, and said that he's looking forward to be able to go swimming again.

Also on the panel to speak to students was Juleann, an intersexed person. Formally called hermaphrodites, intersexed people are born with parts of both male and female organs. Juleann was born internally as a male, and half of Juleann's outside organs were female.

Juleann told the crowd of 200 about having surgery when she was three months old, then at the age of 9 and once more at the of 17 to make her look like a female.

According to Juleann, one out of 2,000 babies are born intersexed, the same rate as those born with Down syndrome. Juleann added that most parents choose to raise their intersexed child as a girl, "because it's easier to be raised as a masculine female than a feminine male."

"You have no idea what type of phenomenal social crisis it causes," said Juleann, who dresses like a woman. "My father was an educated man, but my mother wanted it 'fixed' and had no tolerance for my male behaviors such as playing with guns or building tree houses."

Juleann described her mother taking her to the doctor and telling the physicians that Juleann was "mentally deranged," and that Juleann had a sexual identity problem.

"The concept of gender is societal," said Juleann, 35. "How males should act or females should act. My mom hid my sexual identity from me. All I knew was that I was a female who liked male things."

It wasn't until the age of 30 that Juleann discovered her medical charts after sneaking a peek when her physician left the room, at which time she saw pictures of her body and were able to read her records and what had occurred when she was younger.

After Juleann, Glen Klein, a drag performer and social worker, spoke to the students, stressing that stereotypically "male" and "female" clothes, colors and activities should be questioned.

"How come flannel is only for men and lesbian?" said Klein, which got a great laugh from the crowd. "It's very satisfying walking down Newbury Street wearing a three-piece sweater set in three-inch heals. And how come blue is a male color and pink is a female color? I look great in pink."

Jodie Goldberg, a biology teacher at Newton North, said she took all of her classes to the day's activities. She said that three out of about 75 of her students chose to spend their class time at the library instead.

"I just really want to increase their knowledge, basically," said Goldberg. "There's power in knowledge. I want them to make their decisions on informed information."

Khalel Pritchard, 15, a sophomore from Boston, was one student who attended the early morning panel.

"I learned a lot about how people are," said Pritchard. "How a gay person or a different person might live their life. It's not as easy as it looks. [ToBGLAD Day] gives a lot of people different perspectives about how gay people are."

After the panel, Newton North students read original pieces about gay, straight, transgender and lesbian issues. Some students recounted witnessing homophobic incidents, while others talked about being an ally of their gay friends.

Gwen Watson, 16, a co-officer of the Gay Student Alliance, who characterizes herself as a "straight ally," talked about the day's events while handing out pamphlets.

"We wanted to cover all the issues with homophobia to educate the students at Newton North. Transgenderism, being a straight ally, different family lifestyles. We wanted to have intersex speakers, a religious panel to discuss the tension between religion and alternative lifestyles."

And for Watson, being a straight ally is very important to her life considering that her twin sister, Margo, came out as a lesbian during their freshman year.

"We used to compete for boys," smiled Gwen. "But now we still look at guys together, and she'll look at girls, too. I'll offer my opinion. But one of my reliefs was that I didn't need to compete with her [Margo] anymore for boys."

The events were sponsored by the Newton North Gay/Straight Alliance, a club supported by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Education, whose stated goals are to promote awareness and understanding of gay, lesbian, bisexual issues and to combat homophobia within the school.

From http://www.parentsrightscoalition.org/Horror_Stories.htm -

In numerous high schools across Massachusetts, entire days have been devoted to "Gay/Lesbian and Transgender" programs, and academic classes are cancelled and students are led to the activities, including panels, speakers, etc.

In Newton, a first grade teacher "came out" as a homosexual to his class. He told them that could love a man "the way your mother and father love each other." The Superintendent defended the action, saying that the teacher needed to "be himself." Several upset parents who called the school were told that "you are the only one" who has complained.

Newton North High School had a "Bi-Sexual Awareness" day with posters around the school and students invited to a discussion event.

In Natick, high school students in the "gay-straight alliance" club were shown an R-rated movie about a graphic "love story" between two boys.

At a required school assembly in Chelmsford, an instructor used four-letter words, described the joys of oral and anal sex, and had children participate in licking condoms.

Statewide in high schools: students were told to answer surveys on their use of drugs and about personal feelings on suicide, death, homosexual activity and similar subjects. The wording was very intrusive. Parents were outraged when they found out that the survey was funded by the State of Massachusetts.

Newton, MA: 9th grade girls in the health classes are assigned to go to a drug store and buy condoms, and practice putting them on a banana.

At the Lexington High School's Resource Center, a parent found out that her thirteen-year-olds could borrow a book (bought with state health funds) telling how gay men at the opera can socialize with "the backs of their trousers discreetly parted so they could experience a little extra pleasure while viewing the spectacle on stage."

In Newton, a high-school principal told a group of parents that they may not remove their children from the condom distribution program because "it is too important".

At Silver Lake High School, the ninth-grade health text teaches: "Testing your ability to function sexually and to give pleasure to another person may be less threatening in the early teens with people of your own sex." Also, "You may come to the conclusion that growing up means rejecting the values of your parents." Students were told to keep the book in their lockers and not take it home.
- Boston Globe

Manomet, MA: An eight-grade health class passed out material which one boy said was against his parents' beliefs. He was told by the instructor, "If you have any trouble with your parents, tell me and I'll handle them."

Newton, MA: The high school's World Language Department presented the film "ma vie en rose" - an R rated film about a homosexual 7 year old boy. The film's advertising describes: "Seven-year-old Ludo enjoys being a girl. Borrowing mommy's red high-heels, her lipstick, her earrings ... yummy! Trouble is, 7-year-old Ludo -- short for Ludovic (Georges du Fresne) -- is a boy, even if he is pretty in pink."

Nutting Lake, MA: "Counselors" conducted a group session where a girl was asked to share the details about her parents' divorce and her father's affair with the class. The sessions were to be kept confidential from parents.

Framingham, MA: The following questionnaire was distributed in Framingham High School homerooms. (It was defended by the principal in a Boston Herald article.):

1. What do you think caused your heterosexuality?
2. When did you first decide you were heterosexual?
3. Is it possible heterosexuality is a phase you will grow out of?
4. Is it possible you are heterosexual because you fear the same sex?
5. If you have never slept with anyone of the same sex, how do you know you wouldn't prefer it? Is it possible you merely need a good gay experience?
6. To whom have you disclosed your heterosexuality? How did they react?
7. Why are heterosexuals so blatant, always making a spectacle of their heterosexuality? Why can't they just be who they are and not flaunt their sexuality by kissing in public, wearing wedding rings, etc.?
8. Most child molesters are heterosexual men. Do you consider it safe to expose your children to heterosexual males? Heterosexual male teachers particularly?
9. How can you have a truly satisfying relationship with someone of the opposite sex, given the obvious physical and emotional differences?
10. Heterosexual marriages has total societal support, yet over half of all heterosexuals who marry this year will divorce. Why are there so few heterosexual relationships?
11.Given the problems heterosexuals face, would you want your children to be heterosexual? Would you consider aversion therapy?
- Parent. (Copy of questionnaire on file.)

Needham, MA: Even with the Parents' Rights Law in place, parents were not notified when the "Gay/Straight Alliance' at Needham hosted an assembly for the entire student body.

At the assembly, a high school student described her first lesbian kiss, and extolled the "virtues" lesbianism.

Parents were not notified that this assembly was going on, students were not [informed that they were] allowed to refuse to attend, and following the assembly, each homeroom moderator was asked to continue the discussion when the students returned to homeroom.

Later, the Faculty Advisor to the Gay/Straight Alliance publicly stated that parents' desires to exempt their children from the assembly next year would not be honored, as the "assembly did not teach any moral or religious beliefs … By introducing students to the topic of homosexuality, we hope that they will be prepared to react appropriately [to the homosexuals they meet]"
- Needham TAB, February 17, 2000, p.8).

Ashland, MA: Children were assigned to play "gays" in a school skit. One boy's line was, "It's natural to be attracted to the same sex." Two girls were told to hold hands and pretend they were lesbians.
- Middlesex News, "'Gay' skit in school angers Ashland mother," April 1, 1994, B1.

Beverly, MA: A 14 year-old Beverly High School girl came home and told her father that he was a "homophobe." She had just returned from a four day mandatory assembly called "Homophobia Week." Sessions at the school instructed, and she accepted, that homosexuals should have the right to marry and adopt children. This was done without parental notification or permission.
- Parent

Beverly, MA: An upperclassmen wrote in a local paper, "I felt disturbed and nauseated. I witnessed biased testimonies by gays, and the public mocking of a priest in our very auditorium."
- local Beverly newspaper

Beverly, MA: A four day seminar took time out of Algebra class to address "sexual harassment." One parent pulled their child out of the classroom after seeing the material. The teacher waited a day, then asked the student to come back saying, "Your parents don't have to know."
- Parent

Brookline, MA: A transexual came into first-grade classes and described to the children how sex-changes take place. Parents had not been notified, and had to counsel their frightened, confused children.
- The Boston Sunday Globe: City Weekly, "Sex-change counseling angers parents: Runkle School apologizes for not giving prior notice," November 14, 1993, 1.

Newton, MA: School officials announced in the local newspapers that masturbation would be covered in the required courses for ninth grade.
- Newton WEEKLY GRAPHIC, "Plan OK'd amid sex ed furor: Tense emotions surround vote," May 13, 1993, 1.

Newton, MA: 9th Grade Sexuality and Health Course Outline reveals that "slanguage" will be used to discuss sex in the classroom. Additionally, videos shown "reveal" that there is a "range of opinions" about homosexuality. The following class is a discussion of "issues about how homosexuals are treated in our society."
- 9th Grade Sexuality and Health Course Outline, 1994-1995 school year.

From - http://www.morningjournal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10943029&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=6

Sex Education: Students get crash course, schools play hooky
The Morning Journal 02/10/2004

While the number of teacher-student sex cases appears to be increasing, The Morning Journal has found that only a handful of local school districts have specific policies to deal with the problem or have been spurred by recent incidents to take more steps to prevent it.

Like Lorain and Elyria, the two biggest school systems in the county, most school districts say they rely on state law and general sexual harassment policies written years ago.

''We at Clearview have a sexual harassment policy,'' said Rick Buckosh, superintendent of Clearview schools. ''It does not speak specifically to student-teacher relations. Basically, any conduct like that is governed by state law and rules and regulations of the Ohio Department of Education.''

A few districts, however, are taking steps to confront the problem.

The Firelands school district has a detailed 12-point policy on staff-student relations that seems geared to head off most situations seen in teacher-student sex cases.

The two-page policy adopted in 2001 prohibits dating between staff members and students, restricts staff from fraternizing -- ''written or verbally'' -- with students except in school-related matters and comes right out and says staff members shall not associate with students ''at any time in any situation or activity which could be considered sexually suggestive.''

It also covers meetings, parties, gift giving, errands and other situations in which staff could come in contact with students.

''I'm surprised that a lot of the other districts don't have similar policies,'' Firelands Superintendent Tom Diringer said, noting that the Ohio School Boards Association assists school districts by providing samples of similar policies and guidelines.

The Avon school district has a section in its teachers' handbook under ''teacher-student rapport'' that contains guideline to help teachers refrain from inappropriate behavior and guard against any accusations.

''Recommendations in the handbook include teachers not accepting gifts from students or to transport students to and from locations,'' said Kristina Dobos Buller, assistant principal for Avon High School.

''Under provisions in the handbook, teachers do not meet with students privately or alone,'' Dobos Buller said. ''The handbook even tells teachers to watch the context of their conversation so not to make any innuendoes.''

She said Avon High School has a window on every classroom or office door as a security measure for students and teachers.

The Vermilion school district has a two-page section specifically dealing with ''student supervision and welfare'' as part of its board policy covering sexual harassment and other matters.

Besides providing guidance for situations in which teachers and other professional staff associate with students, it clearly warns that any sexual conduct with a student can result in criminal charges and termination.

''Our policy says pretty clearly what is allowed and what's not allowed,'' Vermilion Superintendent Bruce Keller said. ''It defines inappropriate behavior and provides a reporting process for that inappropriate behavior.''

The Vermilion schools also have a ''Safe School Hotline'' (1-800-418-6423, Ext. 359) that anyone can call and anonymously leave a tip if they know of any possible inappropriate behavior.

The Lorain school district wouldn't allow interviews on the topic and required all questions be submitted in writing.

Despite several recent high-profile teacher-student sex cases, the Lorain school district said it has made no changes in its policies, which date back eight years or more.

The district still relies on a sexual harassment policy from 1996, which makes no mention of teacher-student situations, and on an even more general staff conduct policy written in 1987, a one-page document that doesn't contain even indirect references to sexual conduct.

When the district was asked for examples of how individual officials have taken a leadership role in combating the problem of teacher-student sexual contact, spokesman Dean Schnurr issued a one-sentence statement:

''Recently, the Human Resources Office has focused additional attention on professional development for teachers, staff and administration related to appropriate contact with students and behavior which is appropriate in the classroom.''

Superintendent Delores Morgan also provided a statement:

''Inappropriate contact between teachers and students is an unfortunate reality and we must always be cognizant of the possibility,'' she said. ''Proactive steps such as a zero-tolerance policy, a clear understanding of the rights and responsibilities of all parties, and continued professional development in appropriate areas are all steps which must be taken to ensure the safety and security of our students.''

Morgan was asked if there are formal discussion of rules for acceptable conduct between teachers and students.

''All first-year teachers are required to take a state-sponsored course which includes elements on acceptable conduct for teachers. Professional development sessions offered by Lorain City Schools also focus on such issues,'' she said in a written statement provided by Schnurr. ''All students are required to take a health course which covers sexual harassment and related topics.''

Teresa Starkey, head of the Lorain teachers union, confirmed that on their professional development days teachers were attending sexual harassment workshops to provide them with ''more awareness'' of potential problems, but they did not specifically address teacher-student sexual conduct.

The Lorain district has its defenders.

''Lorain is a concerned district,'' said Adrian Allison, administrator of the Office of Professional Conduct in the Ohio Department of Education. ''They don't hesitate to investigate allegations against teachers. Dee Morgan isn't afraid to let the state know about these issues.''

Sgt. Mark Carpentiere, a Lorain police detective who has investigated several teacher-student sex cases, said he believes the Lorain schools are doing a good job of reporting them.

''They report it right away to children's services and police, and they do their own investigation. There are three investigations going on,'' he said.

Starkey agrees that the district attacks teacher-student sexual misconduct reports aggressively, although the effect has been chilling for teachers.

No longer, Starkey says, can a teacher put his or her arm around a child without fear their actions could be misinterpreted and lead to an investigation.

''I think they've been very open and maybe a little too rough on the teachers in thinking something is happening,'' said Starkey. ''If anything, they've been too zealous in researching and investigating every allegation. In our district, all teachers are guilty until proven innocent, and the students know it. It's not a very friendly place to teach right now.''

* * * * *

The same unevenness among local school districts on policies addressing teacher-student contacts applies to states in regard to their laws against sex between teachers and students.

Fortunately, the Ohio law on which some local school districts rely almost entirely to prevent the problem is seen by some advocates as a model for other states because it forbids sex between school employees and students of any age, rather than only those younger than 18.

In contrast, an Education Week survey last April found that in nearly half the states, school employees still can legally have sex with students, as young as 16 in some states.

Terri L. Miller, the president of the advocacy network Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct, and Exploitation, or SESAME, has been calling for a federal law based on Ohio's statute. Failing that, the group backs widespread replication of the law in other states.

''We would like to get all states on board with that type of legislation,'' she said in the Education Week review.

Still, although some states have also taken steps to curb the problem known as ''passing the trash'' -- the practice of allowing employees suspected of wrongdoing to leave quietly for new jobs -- local school officials in Ohio aren't required to inform the state if educators leave their jobs amid suspicions of sexual misconduct.

The Education Week survey found that 17 other states have such requirements.

The Ohio Department of Education has been pushing for a bill that would require schools to report cases of sexual misconduct by certified educators to the department.

''We are supposed to be notified by the courts, by the prosecutor's office, but we just don't feel that's enough,'' said Marilyn Braatz, an ODE spokeswoman, in the Education Week review.

When Ohio's law was passed in 1994, it raised the awareness of the issue, said Martha Wise, a 26-year member of the State Board of Education who represents school districts in six counties in Northeast Ohio's District 2.

''Ohio now has one of the toughest laws against student-teacher sexual relations in the nation because it is one of zero tolerance,'' Wise said. ''Since laws have been put into place, we have been able to investigate a claim, but each case makes us realize what we need to do to improve.

''We would like to have subpoena power over a district's investigation phase,'' she said. ''Getting records and evidence of misconduct has been a stumbling block in some cases.

''We're the governing board who has to decide whether a schoolteacher's license gets revoked,'' Wise said. ''We also would like to require school districts to have to report allegations and investigations to us.''

Sexual offenses between students and teachers are felonies, punishable by at least six months or up to several years in prison, according to Lorain County Prosecutor Jeffrey Manning.

''If the student is under the age of 13, the penalties are harsher,'' he said.

''By state law, all schools are required to report allegations against teachers or school employees to children services within 72 hours,'' Allison said. ''County prosecutor's offices also are required by law to report such cases to the state.

''Our office will take steps to further investigate a teacher who has been accused,'' Allison said. ''The state's job is to determine licensure questions, and if that teacher belongs in the classroom.''

The state can take away licenses if teachers are found guilty of having sexual relations with a student, said J.C. Benton, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Education, adding it takes a majority of the 19 members of the State Board of Education to revoke a teacher's license.

The board disciplined about 300 teachers from January 2000 through last month for everything from drug offenses to theft convictions and inappropriate sexual behavior.

At least 82 of them were disciplined for sexual conduct with children.

The number of disciplined teachers is small, less than 0.5 percent of Ohio's 200,000 teachers, and the percentage of those punished for sex offenses is even smaller, Benton notes.

It's a small number of teachers who are committing these acts and giving the teaching profession a bad name, he stressed.

''Ninety-nine percent of the teachers are doing an outstanding job educating Ohio's youth,'' Benton said. ''It's the same way in journalism. Not everyone is a Jayson Blair. It's that small number that give the profession a bad name.''

The Ohio Department of Education currently has 11 full-time employees consisting of educators, attorneys and paralegals in its Office of Professional Conduct who investigate allegations of misconduct of teachers.

That number is up from two investigators the office started with when it was established in August 1999, Benton said.

''In the last few years, we have beefed up our efforts to investigate the small number of teachers accused of sexual misconduct,'' he said.

According to the Education Week review, Ohio is among the few states not requiring applicants for state teacher certification to undergo criminal-background screenings that involve fingerprint checks through the FBI and the state police.

However, each time a prospective teacher applies to a school district in the state, the Ohio Attorney General's Office conducts a background check with the Bureau of Criminal Investigations, according to Bob Beasley, spokesman for the attorney general's office.

That BCI background check provides the criminal history of the teacher applicant, and if there are any felonies or certain misdemeanors revealed, that person would be disqualified from teaching, Beasley said.

The BCI background check for teachers also has its cons.

If someone teaching in a district is warned or suspended for alleged sexual misconduct and applies for a job in another one, the attorney general's office would not be aware of those warnings or suspension notices.

If someone lived in another state but received their teaching certification in Ohio, that BCI background check would not reveal a teaching applicant's criminal history in the state where they lived.

''The background check only includes a teacher's criminal history, not warnings or suspensions,'' Beasley said. ''But, if a teacher moved from another state for a teaching job in another one, then our office's background check would require an FBI background check that would reveal someone's criminal history in another state.''

* * * * *

Bob Kerecz, a long-time art teacher at Southview High School who retired in 1997, said he has seen a lot of changes in the 30-plus years he has been involved in education.

Kerecz taught in Lorain schools for 30 years, 27 of them at Southview, and has continued to work as a sub and hall monitor at the school for the last four years. He is also a first-year member of Lorain City Council, representing part of South Lorain in Ward 6.

Kerecz strongly believes students don't look at teachers as authority figures anymore, and that there needs to be a uniform discipline policy in the district.

''There's a lot of good kids in the system, but there's a lot of troubled kids,'' Kerecz said. ''All schools have problems, but the problems seem to surface more in Lorain. The rest of the schools in the county seem to hide their problems pretty well.

''In many cases, teachers here have become the parent figure for a lot of these kids,'' Kerecz said. ''I've had students come up to me and bleed their hearts out. You really feel for them and their situation.''

Kerecz said he definitely supports the state's zero-tolerance law for revoking licenses of teachers found guilty of sexual battery.

''I always taught with the creed that you gain respect by giving respect,'' Kerecz said. ''Behaving inappropriately with students isn't showing respect. It's not worth it to you, your family and career, but this even goes on in the clergy and every profession. The school administration can't monitor every staff member or worker in the school.

''As a teacher, you really have to draw a line,'' Kerecz said. ''Years ago, you could hug a girl and comfort her. Today, you can't do that because people have really misused that privilege. One thing that really disturbs me is that if you're accused of an inappropriate action or behavior, you're kind of branded for life -- whether you did it or not.''

Kerecz said a lot of the glamour, prestige and reward in being a teacher has diminished because of accusations against teachers.

''Your colleagues will always wonder if you did do something wrong, even if you're found innocent,'' Kerecz said. ''It's a touchy situation.''

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