Stamford Public Schools: In Honor Of GLSEN Day Of Silence The SPS LGBTQ+ Task Force Will Launch Gallery Of Creative Works

Press release from Stamford Public Schools:

March 22, 2021 - 11:17am

Stamford Public Schools (SPS) announced the upcoming launch of the SPS Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Non-Conforming (LGBTQ+) Task Force’s virtual LGBTQ+ Gallery on April 23, 2021, in honor of the national Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) Day of Silence. This gallery will include creative works of visual arts, performing arts and writing submitted by LGBTQ+ students, teachers, families, community members and allies.

The SPS LGBTQ+ Task Force was established in the spring of 2018 to address the needs of our LGBTQ+ school community and comprises students, parents, SPS staff, and members of the Board of Education well as of the broader community. The work of the task force includes raising awareness, providing professional development for our teachers and administrators, providing support and guidance to school administrators on LGBTQ+ issues, helping revise and update policies that impact our LGBTQ+ students, and helping connect LGBTQ+ students and families to support services and resources.
GLSEN is a nonprofit organization founded in 1990 by a group of educators that works to ensure that LGBTQ+ students are able to learn and grow in a school environment free from bullying and harassment.

The SPS LGBTQ+ Task Force began collecting submissions for the gallery launch earlier this month. Student members of the task force will award prizes for outstanding works in each category represented in the gallery on the Day of Silence. While the task force will add works to the gallery over time, only those submissions received by Saturday April 17, 2021, will be considered for the launch.

"Since representation is such an important part of one's education, the SPS LGBTQ+ Task Force wanted to provide an opportunity for LGBTQ+ students, teachers, families, community members and allies to tell their stories,” said SPS LGBTQ+ Task Force Member Jeff Bianco, Northeast Elementary School Title I Teacher. “The Gallery will be an expression of shared and unique experiences expressed through a variety of mediums, by and for all who are connected to the LGBTQ+ community.”

The GLSEN Day of Silence is a national student-led demonstration where LGBTQ+ students and allies all around the country—and the world—take a vow of silence to protest the harmful effects of harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ+ people in schools. Established in the mid 90s by two college students, the Day of Silence has expanded to reach hundreds of thousands of students each year. Every April, students go through the school day without speaking, ending the day with breaking the Silence rallies and events to share their experiences during the protest and bring attention to ways their schools and communities can become more inclusive.

Anyone interested in submitting a work for consideration, should complete the Google Form and attach a photo of your artwork: LGBTQ+ Gallery Submissions. For more information on the Day of Silence, click here: https://www.glsen.org/day-of-silence.
For any questions about the LGBTQ+ Gallery, contact Jeff Bianco at jbianco1@stamfordct.gov.

This press release was produced by Stamford Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.