Eagle County Gender and Sexuality Alliance receives $10,000 grant from LGBTQ+ empowerment organization

A Gender and Sexuality alliance at a school in Eagle County received a $10,000 grant to implement a student-centered plan to make schools safer and happier for LGBTQ+ students.

Where does the grant come from? It Gets BetterA nonprofit organization that uplifts, empowers and connects LGBTQ+ people around the world through storytelling initiatives. Funding is part of It Gets Better 50 states, 50 grants, 5,000 votes The grant initiative, the organization’s largest, is designed to provide LGBTQ+ youth with resources to make their schools a comfortable and fun place for them.

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

Mads Partridge, Mountain Pride’s chief executive, said it was “very exciting” to receive the grant.

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

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Why are Gender and Sexuality Alliances important in schools?

Partridge said there are several Gender and Sexuality Alliances in middle and high schools in the Eagle County School District, and they are all “student-led and supported by Mountain Pride.” “The foundations of Mountain Pride’s work are community, education, advocacy, and resources, and that’s why we’ve 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; It features student-led activities, from fun activities to discussions about issues that affect them at school and in life, and gives students a platform where they can advocate and have their voices heard.

“The main goal at every GSA in Eagle County is to make it a safer place for kids,” said Liam Dunn, a senior at Eagle Valley High School and co-leader of the school’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance.

“You hear about a lot of experiences from LGBTQ+ youth in school and how much it impacts a person’s mental health, their education,” Dunn said. “This is a place of education and unfortunately LGBTQ+ youth struggle with discrimination every day, which is something that shouldn’t happen, but GSA…is a place where kids can come together to find community, to find a sense of belonging. ”

“I was so happy because it opens the door to so many things we can do to benefit our school,” Dunn said when he heard about the grant.

Working with the students “was incredible. These students are so energetic, they make me want to be a better person and live authentically as many of them demonstrate,” Partridge said. “The reality is they can show up that way but there is still bullying, having GSA and being openly out “So it’s really a capture of this powerful authenticity, but then the reality of what’s still going on in schools.”

“(Students) want spaces where they can truly stay free of bullying and harassment and where their peers can succeed in 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,” said Partridge. “With this grant, we’re celebrating young people who are speaking out, advocating for teacher training and safe spaces, and celebrating all of that in the same effort.” We can support these initiatives led by It was amazing to witness.”

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

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

The grant applications included three specific goals: teacher training on the experiences of LGBTQ+ students, more inclusive policies and outreach to schools, and a fun end-of-year celebration through Queer Prom.

The teacher education element will include LGBTQ+ student-focused content about how incidents such as bullying, misuse of pronouns, and misunderstanding of their identity affect them and how teachers can intervene on behalf of students who are being bullied.

“Our teachers do so much in the classroom, and it’s incredible; they have to attend to every student, and attending to every student also means understanding the students’ experiences,” Partridge said.

“There are some teachers who can be disrespectful, but they really don’t understand,” Dunn said.

While some schools, such as Eagle Valley High School, already have gender-neutral bathrooms, they are not always easy for every student to access. Some of the grant funds will increase access to these restrooms for students in need.

“There are a lot of kids who think it’s really important to have gender-neutral bathrooms because they may be afraid to go into either bathroom because of the bullying that can come with that,” Dunn said.

Open to all high school students in Eagle County, Queer Ball serves as both a dance filled with fun activities and a space for LGBTQ+ youth to come together, meet others like themselves, and “have a safe place to be who they are.” “They’re being tried and they’re not being tried,” Dunn said.

Eagle County School District supports students’ school improvement efforts

While the school district has consistently supported the Gender and Sexuality Alliances, anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric is not unheard of in Eagle County, and Partridge is prepared for the backlash as students implement action plans in schools.

“I definitely see pushback happening. Since Mountain Pride became an organization, we’ve received feedback that we shouldn’t be here, that we shouldn’t be working with young people in our schools. We’ve had school board meetings and city council meetings where we continue to hear this,” Partridge said. “But the district supports LGBTQ+ youth in our schools. They support them having a GSA and being able to use their voice.”

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

The grant provides an opportunity for students to influence their school culture in a way that will better their lives and the lives of incoming LGBTQ+ students. Receiving the grant “makes me an even prouder student to be able to come to a school where we are impacting change,” Dunn said. “I am proud of every single person at GSA; We did this, we really worked together to make this change happen. “And it makes it a safer place for me too… It makes me feel a little more comfortable knowing that we are taking steps to make kids feel safe at school.”