By: Ella Baker, EdD
In 2018, I was fired by a private prep school for coming out as a transgender woman. In the days that followed, I was flooded with messages from families of LGBTQ students expressing support but also seeking guidance in navigating hostile school climates. For too many students, school is a scary place where they face bullying and often physical threats just for being who they are. When school policies and administrators fail to protect these students it can feel like there is no one to turn to and nowhere that is safe to simply be. With public school policies at the state and federal level turning increasingly hostile towards LGBTQ and minority students, many families feel that there aren’t safe education options for their children. That’s why I started Pathways Early College Academy, an LGBTQ-founded accredited private high school with an early college model that includes the cost of college courses so that students can work towards earning a college degree while completing their high school diploma. We are also approved for ESA/Voucher programs in Arizona, Utah, Arkansas, West Virginia, and New Hampshire so that students in those states can attend for free.
At Pathways Early College Academy, students are honored for the totality of who they are and learn to be what the Tyler Clementi Foundation calls, “Upstanders” to counter the tide of bullying and discrimination. This is incredibly important as research shows that campus climates and policies are clear contributors to student wellbeing, sense of belonging, and academic outcomes (Hurtado & Alvarado, 2015; Mathies et al., 2019; Singh et al, 2013). Schools with safe climates for minority students see higher levels of wellbeing and sense of belonging among this population than those with hostile climates (Glazzard et al., 2020). However, most schools in the United States do not have policies or climates that are supportive of minority populations (Patchett & Foster, 2015) and schools often self-report better campus climates and more inclusive policies than is actually experienced by their LGBTQ students (Patchett & Foster, 2015). Negative perceptions of campus climate and low sense of belonging, including reports of hostility, discrimination, and harassment (Kosciw et al., 2020), are pervasive throughout LGBTQ student experiences at all types of educational institutions (Greathouse et al., 2018).
At Pathways Early College we commit to the Upstander Pledge. It is a pledge to kindness. A pledge to inclusion. A pledge to listening and learning. And a pledge to ensure that no student ever feels alone. We believe education is not only about academic achievement, but also about character, compassion, and community. We’re honored to stand alongside the Tyler Clementi Foundation in fostering a school culture where every student can thrive—academically, socially, and emotionally.
Sources:
Glazzard, J., Jindal-Snape, D., & Stones, S. (2020). Transitions into, and through, higher
education: The lived experiences of students who identify as LGBTQ+. Frontiers in
Education, 5(81). https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.00081
Greathouse, M., BrckaLorenz, A., Hoban, M., Huesman, R., Rankin, S., & Stolzenberg, E.B.
(2018). A meta-analysis of queer-spectrum and trans-spectrum student experiences at
US research universities. In K.M. Soria (Ed.), Evaluating campus climate at US research
universities, (49-75). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Hurtado, S., & Alvarado, A. R. (2015). Discrimination and bias, underrepresentation,
and sense of belonging on campus. The Higher Education Research Institute.
https://www.heri.ucla.edu/PDFs/Discriminination-and-Bias-Underrepresentation-and-Sense-of-
Belonging-on-Campus.pdf
Kosciw, J. G., Clark, C. M., Truong, N. L., & Zongrone, A. D. (2020). The 2019 national
school climate survey: The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth in
our nation’s schools. GLSEN.
Mathies, N., Coleman, T., McKie, R.M., Woodford, M.R., Courtice, R.L., Travers, R., & Renn,
K.A. (2019). Hearing “that’s so gay” and “no homo” on academic outcomes for
LGBQ + college students. Journal of LGBT Youth, 16(3), 255-277.
https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2019.1571981
Patchett, E., & Foster, J. (2015). Inclusive recreation: The state of campus policies, facilities,
trainings, and programs for transgender participants. Recreational Sports Journal, 39(2),
83–91. https://doi.org/10.1123/rsj.2015-0028
Singh, A.A., Meng, S., & Hansen, A. (2013). “It’s already hard enough being a student”:
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Dr. Ella Baker
Founding Director of Pathways Early College Academy
Dr. Ella Baker has over a decade of K-16
leadership experience and has taught
everything from 1st grade at PS86 in the
Bronx, to college English at Azusa Pacific
University. She was the founding director of
both the Learning Assistance Program and
the Oliver Honors Institute at Maranatha
High School, and created college and career
programs for over 50 public schools across
the US. She holds a doctorate in Educational
Leadership from the University of Southern
California and an interdisciplinary Masters
in Humanities and Philosophy from
New York University.