A gender and sexuality alliance at an Eagle County school received a $10,000 grant to implement a student-driven plan to make schools safer and happier for LGBTQ+ students.

The grant comes from It’s bettera non-profit organization that uplifts, empowers and connects LGBTQ+ people around the world through storytelling initiatives. The funding is part of the It Gets Better program. 50 states, 50 grants, 5,000 votes grant initiative, the organization’s largest, designed to provide LGBTQ+ youth with resources to make their schools a comfortable and joyful place for themselves.

Student members of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance applied for this grant last year in partnership with Mountain Pride, an Eagle County-based nonprofit founded in 2022 to improve the experience of the LGBTQ+ community and of his allies in the mountains of Colorado. Eagle County is the only recipient of the It Gets Better grant in Colorado out of 25 recipients this year and the third recipient in Colorado in the three years the grant has been offered.

Mads Partridge, executive director of Mountain Pride, said receiving the grant was “so exciting”.

“The students were thrilled,” Partridge said. “I think it really shows them that their voices matter and that Mountain Pride, It Gets Better and Eagle County want to raise their voices and show that they have power and can create an impact. We can use this money and do powerful work that will impact not only our space, but also the culture of the school.

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Why are gender and sexuality alliances important in schools?

There are several gender and sexuality alliances at middle and high schools in the Eagle County School District, all of which are “student-led and supported by Mountain Pride,” Partridge said. “The pillars of Mountain Pride’s work are community, education, advocacy and resources. So we worked with student leaders, educators, counselors and the school district to help support or create these student groups in schools.

Clubs provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ students, offering student-led activities that range from fun events to discussions about issues that affect them in school and life, giving students a platform to advocate and make hear their voice.

“In every GSA in Eagle County, the main goal is to make it a safer place for children,” said Liam Dunn, a senior at Eagle Valley High School and co-leader of the Alliance for gender and sexuality at school.

“You hear so many experiences from LGBTQ+ youth in school, and how much it can affect an individual’s mental health, how much it can affect people’s education,” Dunn said. “It’s a place of education and, unfortunately, LGBTQ+ youth face discrimination every day, which shouldn’t happen, but GSA… is a place where kids can come together to find community and a sense of community. ‘membership. »

Upon hearing about the grant, “I was very happy, because it opens so many doors to things we can do to benefit our school,” Dunn said.

Working with the students has been “incredible. These students are so energetic and they make me want to be a better person and live authentically, which is how many of them present themselves,” Partridge said. “The reality is they can present themselves that way, but there’s still intimidation, there’s still reluctance about having a GSA and speaking out. So it’s really a trap between this powerful authenticity, but also this reality of what’s still happening in schools.

“(Students) want spaces where they can truly be themselves free from bullying and harassment and where their peers can thrive at school.” What’s so exciting about this It Gets Better grant is that it shows students that people believe in their ability to change to create a better environment in our schools,” Partridge said. “With this grant, we can support these youth-led initiatives as they raise their voices, advocate for teacher training and safe spaces, and celebrate it all in the same effort.” It was incredible to see.

How do students plan to implement the It Gets Better grant?

In applying for the It Gets Better grant, students wanted to “make school a better place for our LGBTQ+ youth here,” Dunn said.

Their grant application included three specific goals: teacher training on the LGBTQ+ student experience, more inclusive policies and access within schools, and a fun end-of-year celebration through Queer Prom.

The teacher training component will include content focused on LGBTQ+ students on how incidents such as harassment, pronoun misuse, and misunderstanding of their identities affect them, and how teachers can intervene on behalf of students who are victims of bullying.

“Our teachers do so much in the classroom, and it’s so amazing, and they have to show up for every student, and showing up for every student also means understanding students’ experiences,” Partridge said.

“Some teachers may be disrespectful, but they just don’t really understand,” Dunn said.

Although some schools, like Eagle Valley High School, already have gender-neutral restrooms, they are not always easily accessible to all students. Part of the subsidies will already increase access to these toilets for students who need them.

“Many children find it very important to have gender-neutral restrooms because they may be afraid to go into either restroom because of the bullying that can come with it,” Dunn said.

The Queer Prom, which is open to all Eagle County high school students, is both a dance with fun activities and serves as a space for LGBTQ+ youth to come together and meet other people who look like them, “and have this place sure to be who you. are and are not judged,” Dunn said.

Eagle County School District Supports Students’ School Improvement Efforts

Although the school district has always supported the Gender and Sexuality Alliances, anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric is not uncommon in Eagle County, and Partridge is bracing for backlash as students implement their action plan in schools.

“I really see that there is reluctance. Since Mountain Pride has been an organization, we have received pushback saying that we shouldn’t be here, that we shouldn’t be working with young people in our schools. We’ve had school board and city council meetings where we continue to hear this,” Partridge said. “But the district supports LGBTQ+ youth in our schools. They help them have GSAs and be able to use their voice.

“We are happy to see our students show initiative, compete for a national grant and secure $10,000,” said Eagle County School District Superintendent Phil Qualman. “We believe it is important for students to develop independence and leadership skills, and this grant shows they are moving in that direction.”

For students, the grant provides the opportunity to influence the culture of their school in ways that improve their own lives and the lives of incoming LGBTQ+ students. Receiving this scholarship “makes me an even more proud student to be able to attend a school where we are impacting change,” Dunn said. “I am proud of every person at GSA; we made this possible, we really worked together to make this change happen. And that makes it a safer place for me too… It gives me a little more peace of mind knowing that we’re taking steps to make kids feel safe at school.