Last Saturday, I had the honor of serving as Youth Grand Marshal for my local pride parade. The theme this year was ‘Pride Links Us Together,’ and the event was a beautiful reminder that the LGBT/allied communities are themselves diverse groups that are made up of people from all different walks of life. Not only that, but taking part in the festivities also reminded me that pride is an important link to the history of the LGBT community. It wasn’t too long ago that LGBT people marched through the streets for the very first time during the Stonewall Riots, in response to discrimination that was so widespread that almost no one could afford to be out of the closet.

Fast forward only 43 years, and I’m at an event where LGBT people can openly celebrate their community. Now, although society is still nowhere close to as accepting as it should be, many are safely out and proud of who they are, and have the rainbow flags to prove it. Seeing this made me—well—proud. Proud to be an ally to such an extraordinary community that has held its head up high throughout decades and decades of discrimination, degradation, and stigmatization. And proud to be an ally to a community that has fought and still is fighting hard for their rights, and making progress every day.

Last night, at the Trevor Project’s annual Trevor Live Gala, former GLSEN Student Ambassador Tempest Cartwright was honored with a Colin Higgins Youth Courage Award from the Colin Higgins Foundation. Tempest received the award for being “a bright voice for the voiceless,” advocating for safe spaces for LGBT youth in her home state of Oklahoma and beyond.

Tempest proved time and again that she was committed to making schools better for LGBT youth by being a vocal advocate for change within her school through her GSA leadership. Some of her most recent work with GLSEN includes her participation at the 2012 Respect Awards NY and at the White House LGBT Conference on Safe Schools and Communities, where she co-facilitated a workshop and introduced the founder of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, Judy Shepard.

Board Chairs Wilson Cruz and Ryan Pedlow were also in attendance representing GLSEN and said they were “blown away” by her acceptance speech.

Please join them and all of us here at GLSEN in congratulating Tempest on her well-deserved award!

I was very surprised, when I got a Facebook message from GLSEN back in April which read something a little like “Call me as soon as you can, I have something to ask you.” Most of me automatically assumed it would be something good, but when I snuck away during my lunch period to dial the individual who had messaged me, I certainly did not expect to be offered an invite to President Obama’s Pride Month reception at the White House.

As a longtime community journalist and activist in the Chicago area working with my school’s QSA, the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance, the GoPride news network, and a number of other organizations both locally and nationally, I had been offered the chance to attend GLSEN’s 2012 Safe Schools Advocacy Summit in DC, where I provided news coverage and learned basic lobbying skills in order to better advocate for safe schools legislation like the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Nondiscrimination Act.

Perhaps the word “invite” isn’t quite the correct way for me to to describe the opportunity I had been offered, because it isn’t the type of thing I would dare to reject — I struggled to hold back my excitement as I attempted to sound cool and learn of the details. I finely agreed. The hardest part of everything was having to stay quiet, something that doesn’t come naturally to me, about the offer for almost a month while everything was being finalized.

Fast forward to mid June — my outfit has been planned, plane tickets have been acquired, the White House has received every piece of identifying information on file with the State Department and the Office of Social Security, I have received a very formal invitation in the mail, and I am more than ready to go.

The events started early on Friday, the 15th of March. Accompanied by my mother and Nathan Smith of GLSEN, I had quick, and remarkably positive, visit to the office of my district’s representative, Robert Dold (R-IL), who recently joined the anti-bullying caucus started by Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), but has yet to officially sign onto the Safe Schools Improvement Act which would create federal standards for protecting all students from bullying and harassment in school.

As an added bonus, those invited to the reception had the opportunity to attend any or all of three briefings; the Obama Administration Efforts on HIV/AIDS, the Presidential Appointment Process, and Safety & Health for LGBTQ Youth. Due to the congressional visit, I was unable to attend the briefing on HIV/AIDS, but I eagerly attended the two preceding briefings on the appointment process and queer youth issues.

The briefing on the appointment process was nowhere near pertinent to the seventeen-year-old me, but hearing about the administration’s efforts to find individuals with backgrounds and experiences that reflect the diversity of our nation and how I may one day be able to serve my community and country through a position in government was an empowering experience.

After trailing my mom around the Eisenhower Executive building in her frenzy to find the White House Gift shop, and meeting up with fellow GLSEN White House invitee Nia Farmer who had taken part in the 2012 Students of Color Organizing Summit, I worked my way upstairs to an ornate room for the briefing LGBT health and safety. The panel giving the briefing where members of various government organizations ranging from the Department of Education to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

We were alerted to all of the newest plans to combat issues of queer youth substance and alcohol abuse, homelessness, bullying, and suicide. Afterwards there was a very active question and answer session which my mother and I contributed to enthusiastically. Once questions closed the panel took an opportunity to thank everyone for their work with queer youth issues, specifically pausing to thank my peers and I for our work and courage that earned us our spots in the conversation.

Soon after grabbing a bite to eat it was time to work our way towards the White House for the reception. The lines were long, security was tight, and the place was packed, but the individuals present were unlike any crowd I have ever been around- everyone you spoke with had done something amazing to share. Among many others, I met politicians who had become the first out elected officials in their states, filmmakers and writers who create thought provoking media, and individuals who have pushed our fight for equality further than we ever thought possible.

Although we have done remarkable things, the fight is far from over, but as president Obama told the crowd in attendance , “We will get there. We’ll get there because of all of you. We’ll get there because of all of the ordinary Americans who every day show extraordinary courage. We’ll get there because of every man and woman and activist and ally who is moving us forward by the force of their moral arguments, but more importantly, by the force of their example.”

Here are some photos that Alex took from the reception.

This year’s Ambassador team includes:

Be sure to stay connected to GLSEN all year long for updates on the moving work these ambassadors are doing in their schools and read about the many ways in which they are serving as GLSEN’s youth spokespeople.

Ensuring that one’s child gets the best possible education can be challenging for any parent, and it can be particularly daunting for LGBT parents and their children.  Given that today is Blogging for LGBT Families Day, GLSEN research wants to share important findings regarding the often nuanced experiences of LGBT families from our Involved, Invisible, Ignored report, a study of 588 parents and 154 youth between the ages of 13-20.

In our study, many LGBT parents reported that they did not feel acknowledged or accepted by school personnel, like one mother who said, “The teacher’s assistant most always ignores my partner or is short with her, especially if she picks up my daughter without me.”  Almost a fifth of parents reported that they felt that school personnel failed to acknowledge their type of family (15%) or felt that they could not fully participate in their child’s school community because they were an LGBT parent (16%).  Parents described various forms of exclusion, such as being excluded or prevented from fully participating in school activities and events, being excluded by school policies and procedures, and being ignored and feeling invisible. These slights, whether intentional or out of ignorance, can be detrimental to the family-school relationship.  For children in the study, the most commonly reported reason that they felt unsafe in school was because of their family constellation – that is, having LGBT parents (23%) or because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation (21%).  Nevertheless, it is important to point out that it is the minority of these students who report having these negative experiences in school.  And that, in part, may be because of the work that the parents have done to either choose or help ensure a more affirming school climate for their children.

One of the most common strategies among LGBT parents for dealing with the challenges of school climate is exercising whatever forms of school choice may be available to them.  (Of course, options can be seriously limited by issues of proximity, access, and ability to pay).  When asked about their decision-making, parents in our study most commonly reported that they chose to send their children to the local or neighborhood school (54%) or a school with a strong academic reputation (54%). Yet nearly one-third of parents (31%) also reported that they considered the diversity of the school population.  Before enrolling their children in schools, about half of all parents (45%) said that they had specifically sought out information from their schools about how they handle LGBT issues. (For more specific findings regarding school selection, check out our full report).

Organizations serving LGBT parents, their children, and their school communities have produced resources to assist parents in assessing a school’s climate with respect to LGBT-parent families and LGBT issues in general.  For instance, GLSEN offers a tool called Is This the Right School For Us?, designed to help parents with children in K-6 grades judge whether or not a school will be a good place for their family.

Once a child is enrolled in school, LGBT parents are very likely to reach out to the school to try to set the stage for a good school year.  This outreach is an effort these parents may well need to make again and again, as their child has new teachers, for example.  In our study, about half of the parents (48%) reported that they had gone to the school at the start of the school year to talk about their family.  About two-thirds of parents reported that they had spoken with teachers at their child’s school about being an LGBT parent and 45% had such discussions with the principal.  The Family Equality Council offers several useful resources that support parents’ proactive approach and suggestions for maintaining an on-going dialogue with their school.

Based on GLSEN’s research, there are also a number of school-based interventions that have a positive impact on LGBT-headed families’ experiences with their school communities, mitigating the homophobia and transphobia that can create barriers to full inclusion and a successful educational experience.  LGBT-related school resources and supports can have a beneficial effect on improving school climate for a wide range of students:

• Comprehensive anti-bullying/harassment policies and laws
• Supportive school staff and staff training regarding LGBT issues
• LGBT inclusive curricular resources, i.e., including age-appropriate, positive information about LGBT people, history or events in the curriculum
• Supportive student clubs, such as Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs)

Taken together, these resources and supports can enhance the family-school relationship and create a school environment that is positive and respectful.

I just finished rehearsing with our student presenters, and I have to tell you, they are beside themselves with excitement about sharing the stage with some of tonight’s special guests, with an extra special interest in meeting Born This Way Foundation President & Co-founder, Cynthia Germanotta (Lady Gaga’s mom).

We know that many of you won’t be able to attend the Respect Awards this evening so we wanted to bring a little bit of the show to you, in real time.  Join us on Facebook and Twitter, hashtag #RespectNY, for videos and pictures of attendees starting at 7:30 p.m. eastern time. Just because you can’t be here doesn’t mean you can’t bid on our impressive auction items, including tours of the hottest shows on television, a chance to be an honorary coach for the New York Liberty and meet White Collar star, Matt Bomer!

I’ve just been told that the students are asking to run their lines one more time so I need to head backstage. – Gotta love it!

While we take care of the last of the programmatic items, take a peek at these behind-the-scene photos from Gotham Hall taken from rehearsal earlier today, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter tonight.

It’s going to be a great show.  I hope you will join us!

Here’s an excerpt from The Advocate.

Though she’s only a freshman in high school, Amelia Roskin-Frazee’s résumé of activism is hefty. She established her middle school’s GSA, she’s one of 18 student ambassadors for the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, and she founded her own LGBT organization.

“I was going to my current school’s library and I found that there were pretty much no books about sexual orientation or gender expression,” Roskin-Frazee says. The dearth of LGBT literature inspired her to establish the Make It Safe Project, which provides schools with queer literature. Through her fund-raising efforts, she’s purchased books like It Gets Better and Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens and distributed them to school libraries.

“I’ve given around 20 boxes of books to schools and youth homeless shelters that otherwise didn’t have these resources,” she says. While she sees herself eventually being an “underpaid writer-teacher,” Roskin-Frazee says LGBT advocacy will always be part of her life.

Read the full article on Advocate.com.

If you will be in grades 8 – 12 next school year, you’re invited to apply to GLSEN’s Student Ambassador Program.

In a statement released just before the White House screening of “Bully,” President Obama officially endorsed his support for the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) and the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA). Two bills that GLSEN and the National Safe Schools Partnership believe are critical pieces of federal legislation that address the issues of bullying and harassment of LGBT students.

From the White House,

“The President and his Administration have taken many steps to address the issue of bullying.  He is proud to support the Student Non-Discrimination Act, introduced by Senator Franken and Congressman Polis, and the Safe Schools Improvement Act, introduced by Senator Casey and Congresswoman Linda Sanchez.These bills will help ensure that all students are safe and healthy and can learn in environments free from discrimination, bullying and harassment.”

For those of us here in the GLSEN office this was a celebratory event; complete with congratulatory staff emails, “Breaking News” Facebook posts to friends and exclamations like, “How about that!” and “What a day!” heard over the cubicle walls. This supportive gesture meant a great deal to GLSEN and to everyone dedicated to making schools safer for all students, including those very students the bills would protect.

On the heels of this monumental occasion, GLSEN Student Ambassador Carly F. created a four-part informative video about the importance of safe schools policies from her viewpoint as an outspoken ally and provides specific examples of how we concerned citizens can fulfill our civic duties from the comfort of our homes.

Take action. Become a part of the change.

1. If you are a student leader in grades 8-12 for the 2012-2013 school year and want to join GLSEN in making schools safer for LGBT students, apply to become a GLSEN Student Ambassador.
2. If you are a student or adult who would like your representatives to support the Safe Schools Improvement Act, let them hear from you.

We are on the lookout for student leaders in grades 8-12  during the 2012-2013 school year who are interested in sharing their stories in all kinds of media – from print, radio and TV, to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and more.

When I recorded my story at the media summit I realized that through the power of my experiences I can make a difference and empower myself just by talking about the harassment and bullying I have experienced.  – Brandon

Students chosen will take part in a four-day media and safe schools summit led by GLSEN’s communications department in New York City, July 17-20, 2012.  During this summit students will learn about GLSEN’s safe schools work as they participate in workshops and gain valuable spokesperson experience through media coaching, blogging and sharing their story.

Once Ambassadors have gone through media training they will return home with individual work plans to be actualized over the course of the year under the advisement and support of  the communications team.

Still a little unclear on what a Student Ambassador is or does?

GLSEN Student Ambassadors increase public awareness about the experiences of LGBT youth and their allies in school through their personal stories.  Throughout the year Student Ambassadors are given the opportunity to speak with the media, sit on student panels, attend GLSEN events and examine ways to work with educators to make schools safer for LGBT students. These young leaders serve as everyday voices to inform educators, policy makers, fellow students and concerned citizens about GLSEN’s work and the need for safer schools.

We could go on and on about the amazing opportunities that await you but figure you’d rather hear it from some of the Ambassadors themselves, so take a look at this recent video made by a few of our current students and decide for yourself.

Important information regarding the 2012 summit. Please read!

• Location: New York City
• Dates: July 17-20
• Cost: It’s absolutely FREE to you. All expenses (travel, lodging, food) are covered by GLSEN.
• Deadline: Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. PDT, Sunday, April 29, 2012.
• The program is limited to 18 students.
• Chosen applicants will be notified via email by June 1, 2012.

Update: Applications for the 2012-2013 school year are now closed. Check back next April for the next round of applications!

It’s important to GLSEN that as we fight for equality in America’s schools, we are also doing business with ethically sound and socially conscious vendors

GLSEN has officially rolled out the Day of Silence website, complete with event planning tips, Day of Silence images that can be uploaded to your social media networks, a mobile palm card and so much more. If that wasn’t enough, we also have official Day of Silence merchandise coming to you in the next few weeks, which means you can show everyone that you won’t stand for the daily name-calling, bullying and harassment faced by LGBT students and those perceived to be LGBT. It’s time it stopped and by your continued support year after year, we know you agree.

Still curious about the Day of Silence promo items we have available? Outfit your friends and teachers with Day of Silence wristbands, stickers, posters, buttons and newly designed, super soft t-shirts. That’s right, 100% cotton, Canvas brand t-shirts hot off the presses with GLSEN’s new logo and Day of Silence design!

What’s better is that the shirts are made right here in the USA and printed by Nightsweats and T-cells. It’s important to GLSEN that as we fight for equality in America’s schools, we are also doing business with ethically sound and socially conscious vendors, which is why GLSEN has a longstanding partnership with Nightsweats and T-cells, a full service screen print and design shop owned and operated by persons living with HIV/AIDS. As a matter of fact, this year marks our 10^th official year working alongside them for the Day of Silence!

There will be plenty more updates coming from us leading up to the Day of Silence so check back regularly for tips, updates and relevant safe school news to prepare you for another great event!

And don’t forget to register for the Day of Silence. For us to effectively capture the Day of Silence’s positive impact and prove its importance in shedding light on LGBT issues, we need to know how many people participate- that means you.

Help us end the silence today.