Westwood's Thurston Middle School Now Has A Gay Straight Alliance

Starting this Spring, Thurston Middle School has had a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA). School Committee Vice Chairperson Tony Mullin reports “The impetus for the GSA starts with the 2018-2019 Westwood Public Schools District Priorities that the School Committee approved at the beginning of the academic year. We had two key priorities that relate to the establishment of the GSA namely: ‘Implement programs and instructional practices that recognize and support the needs of students and families in an increasingly diverse community. Develop and implement a district wide plan for meeting students’ social and emotional learning needs’….As part of these priorities The School Committee and Westwood District administration established a goal for the district to: ‘Continue to incorporate school-based and classroom-based strategies for supporting LGBTQ students and families.’ In support of this goal, during 2018-2019 year there were a number of actions the Westwood Public Schools undertook including:

• Partnered with a Safe and Welcoming Schools Specialist for the Boston Public Schools to provide professional development for teachers and to offer a parent workshop, “Preventing Biased-Based Bullying.”
• Held a panel discussion of Westwood High School Alumni to talk about their experiences being LGBTQ while at WHS and afterward.
• Finally, this Spring Thurston Middle School started a GSA. The meetings are scheduled during [lunch block] for interested students.”

Mullin mentions that research indicates the Gay Straight Alliances are beneficial to LGBTQ+ students. Massachusetts-based GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network) found in a 2015 study that “The combination of … data along with anecdotal feedback and our professional experiences indicates that GSAs in middle schools — similar to GSAs in high schools — have most likely increased over the past 10 years...their presence greatly lags behind their presence in high schools.” Westwood High School has had a GSA for more than twenty years.

Anna Watson, who helped found a middle school GSA in Arlington, MA, stated “Whether or not an LGBTQ+ student chooses to attend meetings, the fact that there is a GSA in school has a positive effect on that student...School staff benefit as well and may feel safer coming out to students, which in turn provides more adult mentors for LGBTQ+ students.”

Mullin says “The School Committee and leadership of Thurston Middle School are very supportive of the establishment of the GSA and ensuring it is successful.”

[[Patch staff reached out to Thurston Middle School principal Michael Redmond regarding the GSA without success]]