In a few hours, the end-of-day bell will ring at Gunn High School and students will gather in the school squad with a scream. After a daylong vow of silence—representing the inability of many teens to express themselves fully because of sexual orientation or gender identity—this communal scream will symbolize the "Breaking of the Silence" that is felt by LGBTQ youth and allies.
The Day of Silence activity is just one of many during Gunn's Not In Our School Week. The Palo Alto, Calif. high school has hosted a Not In Our School for nearly a decade to "promote acceptance, awareness and identity safety."
Blog
April 10, 2012 - 3:27pm
Tulsa, Okla. mourns three of its residents after a shooting spree on Good Friday that also left two injured.
April 6, 2012 - 11:14am
"This is not about a black and white thing. This is about a wrong and right thing."
—Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin's mother
Million Hoodies March, Union Square, New York. Source: Rene Carson, photos.byhandmedia.com
As our country grapples with the traumatic aftermath of the Trayvon Martin killing, we ask ourselves, can this crisis bring us together? How do we begin to address an issue as systemic as racial profiling?
April 2, 2012 - 11:25am
To help educators and schools get started, we have developed a Quick Start Guide: How to Launch a Not In Our School Campaign.
With a focus on students taking the lead in creating an inclusive environment at their schools, the Not In our School program can be implemented with the help of tailored lesson plans, NIOS videos, and activity guides--all available on the NIOS website. Educators can launch a Not In Our School campaign in just 9 steps.