FAQs: About GLSEN's Education Program

GLSEN's Education Department is working to empower educators as partners to ensure every student can fully participate in school life. From individual curriculum guides and training programs to full-scale national programs, the department works with educators to support GLSEN's vision. Some of these high-profile programs include:

• No Name-Calling Week (www.nonamecallingweek.org) is a national curriculum-based program seeking to focus national attention on the problem of name-calling and bullying of all kinds in America's schools. No Name-Calling Week was created by GLSEN and Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing in collaboration with more than 40 national education partner/organizations (View Here).
• The Lunchbox training resource released in 2004 is a one-stop shop for educators in understanding and dealing with LGBT issues in schools. The resource is part of our Training of Trainers program that seeks to create and engage a network to bring the Lunchbox resources to a wide audience.
• The GLSEN BookLink, an online library of recommended resources, along with the Safe Space program remain cornerstones of GLSEN's education work.
• Our education department contains resources, articles, curricular tools and basic information for educators.

You can find plenty of free downloadable lesson plans, training exercises, and other resources in the education department. If you are looking for entire curricula, videos, books for educators and other adult allies, or children's and young adult literature titles, head to our GLSEN BookLink, where a wide selection of GLSEN and GLSEN-recommended materials are available for purchase. The Lunchbox contains numerous lessons to help educators address anti-LGBT bias and make their schools safer for all. Sign up to be part of the new GLSEN Educator's Network and we'll notify you of new resources as we make them available.

3. Where can I find a comprehensive History or English curriculum that focuses on LGBT themes?

There are many short resources in our online library, which can be integrated into standard curricula. Visit BookLink for online links to additional LGBT resources.

4. Does GLSEN have any resources for colleges?

GLSEN lists titles appropriate for college audiences in the Educator Resources and Other Ally Resources sections of the GLSEN BookLink. However, GLSEN's mission is to ensure safe and effective schools for students in K-12 schools, and the vast majority of our resources focus on this age range and reflect this goal.

5. I work in an independent and/or religiously-affiliated school: are there resources that speak to my schools' needs?

Since the first Gay-Straight Alliance student clubs were formed at Concord Academy and Philips Academy (Andover) during the 1988-89 school year, independent schools have often been in the lead on LGBT issues. GLSEN founder Kevin Jennings, a former independent school teacher, offers a useful perspective in an article entitled "The Road From Here: Where Independent Schools Are on LGBT Issues, and How To Get To Where They Need To Be" in the Fall 2004 issue of the journal Independent School. The web site of the National Association of Independent Schools refers readers to LGBT resources.

Some regional associations, like the Independent School Association of the Southwest, also offer discussion groups, trainings, and other kinds of resources.

Despite the statement in the 1994 Catechism of the Catholic Church that "Homosexual persons) must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided," the day-to-day reality of life in catholic schools often proves far different.

Data from Catholic school students who participated in the 2001 and 2003 GLSEN National School Climate surveys found that 81% of LGBT Catholic school students reported being verbally harassed in school because of their sexual orientation and 65.1% because of their gender expression. Unsurprisingly 73% of LGBT Catholic school students reported feeling unsafe in school because of their sexual orientation and 46% reported feeling unsafe because of their gender expression. This has definite impact on their academics as 27% of LGBT Catholic School students reported missing at least one class and 22% reported missing at least one entire day of school because of feeling unsafe. Quite simply, if you don't feel safe, you can't learn and, far too often you won't even come to school in the first place. Click here to view more data from the 2003 National School Climate Survey. Click here to view more data from the 2001 National School Climate Survey.

Some Catholic school educators have begun to address the hostile climate in their schools. Father Bob Mattingly at Gonzaga Prep in Washington has published a highly useful two-art article entitled "Gay Adolescents in Catholic Schools: Avoiding the Topic Won't Make It Go Away" in the September/October 2004 and November/December 2004 issues of the journal Momentum.

Laurel Zimmerman's article on how schools in the Minneapolis diocese have attempted to address LGBT issues entitled, "How Catholic Schools are Creating a Safe Climate for Gay and Lesbian Students" offers an excellent case study. Michael Maher's book Being Gay and Lesbian in a Catholic High School: Beyond the Uniform also offers useful perspectives, including personal testimonies of gay and lesbian former Catholic high school students, an extensive summary of official Catholic teaching on homosexuality and homosexuals, and discussions of experiences in same-sex, mixed-gender, and minor seminary high schools. Also, forthcoming this fall is Creating Safe Environments for LGBT Students: A Catholic Schools Perspective, edited by Michael J. Bayly, MA.

To share additional resources, please email education@glsen.org.

6. Can I place an order for educational resources via mail?

Most of our products are sent out by outside distributors and not directly from the GLSEN office. Please order your product in the manner recommended on the BookLink on the GLSEN website.

7. Are GLSEN resources available at a discount?

Many of our resources are available to download from our website at no cost. Some additional materials are available to local GLSEN chapters at a discounted rate. All of our prices are set at or below production costs in order to make them as affordable as possible, but in order to continue producing high-quality resources, we cannot make them all available at reduced rates.

8. Is GLSEN staff available to conduct on-site trainings at my school?

You might consider participating in a Training of Trainers (ToT) when one becomes available in your area, and become a trainer yourself! You can also contact your local GLSEN chapter to see if they have trainers who could meet your needs. Purchasing the Lunchbox, a do-it-yourself training kit, is another option. GLSEN is also presently exploring our capacity to conduct trainings to individual schools.

9. Can my new resource for educators and/or LGBT youth be included in the BookLink?

GLSEN is always on the lookout for outstanding resources for educators and students. If you have a new resource which you think might be suitable for inclusion in our online catalog, please send a review copy to:

GLSEN BookLink
90 Broad Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10004

Please note that providing GLSEN with a review copy does not guarantee inclusion in the BookLink.


If you are unable to find an answer to your question here in the FAQs, please feel free to e-mail your inquiry for:

• Lunchbox and the Training of Trainers (ToT) program to Justin Rosado, jrosado@glsen.org
• For additional questions or education topics not addressed above, contact the Education Department at education@glsen.org