Why Southern Tier schools and organizations are talking to students about gender

Twice a week, Lehman Alternative Community School in Ithaca hosts a 10-minute morning meeting for student announcements about events or, on occasion, personal news.

"It can be noisy and raucous," said Diane Carruthers, the principal of the 6-12 secondary school.

At times, the announcements have gone far beyond bake sales and plays: Some students have used the forum to announce they'd like to be called by an new name or pronoun.

"It just kind of gets folded in with other kinds of announcements for the day," Carruthers said.

That approach reflects a new reality in schools nationwide, where an increasing number of students identify as transgender, meaning their gender identity doesn't match the sex they were assigned at birth.

According to a January 2017 study by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, an estimated 150,000 youth ages 13-17 identify as transgender in the United States.

The largest populations of youth who identify as transgender are found in big, densely populated states including California, Texas, New York and Florida, with the smallest in North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, according to the study.

National statistics are not available on the number of transgender children in the United States. According to Education Week, that's because publicly collected data on transgender people is not collected in every state and participating states only survey adults.

But on a local level, Rob Egan, the LGBTQ program manager of the Identity Youth Center in Binghamton, said the center has seen more young children transitioning in elementary school over the last five years. Some students have identified as transgender in grades as young as in pre-school, Egan said.

For young children, a gender transition is a matter of identification — they might wish to use a new name or pronoun or change their appearance — not of physical change such as hormone use or surgery.

"A lot of that is social transition," Egan said in an interview.

An increase in the numbers of children identifying as transgender calls for an increase in dialogue and conversations regarding gender in the schools, experts say.

According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, a national survey by GLSEN, an educational organization dedicated to creating a safe environment for LGBTQ students, found that 75 percent of transgender youth feel unsafe at school.

But that doesn't result just from peer pressure.

"Too often, school officials themselves single out these youth by refusing to respect their gender identity and even punishing them for expressing that identity," the center said on its website, noting 59 percent of transgender students have been denied access to restrooms consistent with their gender identity.

So, how do schools help create a safe environment for all students?

While some local schools have helped students lead this dialogue, others have called on outside resources to help create an inclusive environment for all students. From creating gender-neutral bathrooms to simply changing the language teachers use, schools have fostered environments that are inclusive to all genders.

Creating a safe space

Founded in 2008, the Identity Youth Center, at 206 State St. in Binghamton, provides a safe space for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (or LGBTQ+) teens and their straight allies.

The nonprofit center is a program of the Southern Tier AIDS Program, and receives its funding through a grant funded by the LGBT Health and Human Services Initiative. The initiative is part of the AIDS Institute of the NYS Department of Health.

The center is filled with games, movies, instruments, snacks, laptops, art supplies and video games. Students sign in anonymously, and names of students who attend the center are never released. Parents are not allowed at the center, and students cannot take pictures there and post them online without the consent of their peers.

At the center, students can participate in educational and social programming or simply hang out and relax.

"We want them to know that they’re connected and that there’s other people," Egan said. "And that being one or two people in this small community isn’t the endgame, it’s not their total reality like it is right now."

The center holds events aimed at teens including a Queer Coffee House, a homecoming dance and Pride Prom.

Most of the Identity Youth Center's resources are designed for those age 13-24. But Egan said he and his colleagues have seen a need for resources that apply to children younger than 13. The state funding the center receives is specifically for youth ages 13-24.

"There hasn’t been any funding for that particular demographic," he said of children under the age of 13. "Because everything’s been older."

While the resources and information is limited, this may change.

In April, the Associated Press reported that the first large-scale national study of transgender children, including some as young as age 3, will expand due to a five-year $1 million grant awarded to a University of Washington psychologist by the National Science Foundation.

Kristina Olson, 36, was named the winner of the NSF's annual Alan T. Waterman Award. Olson leads the TransYouth Project, which launched in 2013 and is following a cohort of about 300 children from 45 U.S. states and several Canadian provinces for 20 years.

"'Transgender children' is a category we have so little scientific knowledge about,'" she told the AP. "I'm interested in their experience of feeling you are in social category that other people don't think you're a part of."

The Identity Youth Center's staff has worked with several area school districts, including Johnson City, Chenango Forks, Binghamton, Newark Valley, Windsor and Greene. It has also worked with Binghamton University, Hartwick College and SUNY Broome.

The center works with school districts to aid in providing resources for their LGBTQ+ students. Districts have contacted the center to help them educate faculty and staff on creating a safe environment for transgender students.

"Sometimes [school is] the place that kids feel they can be their true self because they might not be able to at home for whatever the reasons may be," Egan said.

The center has held meetings and provided literature to district officials about terminology and culture of the LGBTQ+ community. They have also helped schools organize gay-straight alliances and have given students bus passes to assist students with transportation to the center.

"We know that if kids don’t feel safe and supported in school, they’re going to have lower self-esteem, they’re going to have lower academic aspirations and lower academic achievement," Egan said. "And that’s exactly the opposite of what schools are for."

The best lessons are taught simply by teachers modeling good behavior and leading by example.

The Identity Youth Center stresses the importance of modeling behavior by using proper names and pronouns.

"It’s about making accommodations for the student so that they feel safe in school and they feel comfortable so that they can learn," Egan said. "Because that’s really what school’s about. We want them to go and learn and do all of that kind of stuff."

Resisting gender stereotypes and not forcing or encouraging students to choose one of two genders — such as by lining kids up by "girls" and "boys" — also helps not to single out non-binary students, or those who fall outside the categories of girl or boy.

"Those things that actually might seem like not a big deal that actually mean a whole lot because you’re not constantly hearing that normative sort of language," Egan said. "It’s not drilled into you, like, ‘OK, the boys over here and the girls over here.’"

A negative impact

Binghamton resident Kailynd Woolfolk, 16, identifies as gender fluid and uses they/them pronouns. They are pursuing a GED through Binghamton Adult Education, a Binghamton City School District GED program, after dropping out of Binghamton High School.

Kailynd said they came out as gay at the high school and was subjected to "weird" looks and passing negative comments that caused them to leave the school.

But Kailynd has found a positive environment at Binghamton Adult Education, which helped give them the courage to come out as gender-fluid.

"They're very accepting," Kailynd said of their teachers at Binghamton Adult Education.

Kailynd, who was assigned male at birth, didn't begin wearing makeup and identifying as gender fluid until they attended Binghamton Adult Education.

"I said, 'I'm going to go for it,'" Kailynd said. "I got a lot of support. Everyone was like 'Yes, you better slay.'"

Once, Kailynd challenged a teacher when there were only two choices for gender on a piece of paperwork — male of female, and the teacher didn't make Kailynd choose.

"She agreed that they should have 'other,'" they said.

The small actions have made a big difference for Kailynd, who hopes to go to school for cosmetology after receiving their GED.

If others don't understand why a student looks a certain way or is using a a new name, Kailynd encourages an open dialogue.

Questions, they said, are okay.

"Sit them down, talk with them and try to get an understanding of what it is first before you jump to conclusions and try and judge about it," Kailynd said.

If students want to be called a certain name or use certain pronouns, let them.

Education is key.

"Instead of judging, you should maybe go online," Kailynd said. "Try to read about it. Try to get to know the person."

But accommodating such students does not just foster a positive educational atmosphere. It's the law.

The Dignity for All Students Act (DASA), which was signed into law in 2010 and took effect in 2012, requires that all students receive a safe and supportive school environment regardless of a students' actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender (including gender identity or expression) or sex.

DASA ensures that transgender and gender nonconforming students have an environment free from discrimination and harassment, as well as equal access to educational programs and activities.

According to the New York State Department of Education, DASA specifies that “no student shall be subjected to harassment or bullying by employees or students on school property or at a school function; nor shall any student be subjected to discrimination."

This includes gender as a protected category and defines gender as “a person’s actual or perceived sex and includes a person’s gender identity or expression.”

"All students need a safe and supportive school environment to progress academically and developmentally," according to guidelines provided on the the New York State Department of Education website. "Administrators, faculty staff and students each play and important art in creating and sustaining that environment."

A learning process

As terminologies change and are updated, both educators and students must stay educated.

"We’re constantly learning," Egan said.

One of the Identity Youth Center's main rules is "don't assume identities."

"Just because somebody presents one way doesn’t necessarily mean that’s how they identify on the inside," Egan said.

The center supplies schools with educational materials, graphics and resources such as GLSEN and transstudent.org.

"It’s about directing them to the right resources that we know are vetted and trusted and safe and they’re not going to be preyed upon in some sort of way," Egan said.

The Identity Youth Center is there to answer the questions of staff and faculty to help limit missteps inside the classroom.

Aside from the pronouns, terminology and politics, the main message Egan said should be communicated is simply one or respect.

"Transgender people are people even though their bodies might not match what’s in their heart," he said. "But, they deserve respect and love just like everybody else. And I think that’s the message.

"And I think it’s an honest truthful message for kids, that, what their bodies are doesn’t match what they feel inside their mind and in their heart. And that’s okay. So, that’s really the message that we tell them."

The pre-K through 12th-grade educational programs at the Horseheads Central School District teaches Character Education, which addresses the values of trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.

"Our approach not only addresses what is required by the state it also creates a positive school culture that fosters an inclusive school environment," the Horseheads Central School District said in an email statement.

Each situation is assessed and addressed on a case-by-case basis.

"In doing so, we ensure confidentiality when requested, while communicating and modeling respect for the gender identity of all students," the district said. "Similar to other 'tough conversations,' our counselors, administrators, social workers, nurses, teachers and other support personnel are able to help our students."

Bringing student voices into the discussion

Students who want to attend the Ithaca City School District's Lehman Alternative Community School enter through a lottery in the spring before their sixth-grade year.

"There's no criteria, just the lottery," Carruthers said.

The 42 sixth-graders who enter the school typically tend to remain in the school through graduation.

The school allows students to pick their classes and are allowed a waiver from Regents exams.

"It's a little bit like college," Carruthers said.

Classes are centered on project-based learning, and instead of Regents exams, students demonstrate their skills and learning through a portfolio.

In their junior and senior years, students complete official performance based assessment tasks in lieu of testing. Students do not receive grades and democracy is encouraged, with an all-school meeting once a week where students and and community members can raise an issue before the school for discussion and a vote.

The school's gay-straight alliance, which was established about 25 years ago, has helped create a safe space for the school's students who don't identify as straight.

"And, as years went by, we started seeing more and more gender variant students," said Carruthers. "And, I think because there was already a pretty accepting climate for gay and lesbian students that that just seemed like a natural transition for the school to just be open to that."

It was about four or five years ago, Carruthers said, that the school saw an increase of students coming out as transgender. At any one time the secondary school, which serves 305 students, might have about five or six students transitioning genders or identifying as gender fluid.

Four years ago, the school created a gender-neutral bathroom. The bathroom was requested by the students during a school-wide discussion.

"It was their whole movement," Carruthers said of the students. "They got this idea and they really wanted it to happen and got it on a meeting agenda."

During the meeting, questions and concerns were raised and worked out.

"But mostly the school is overwhelmingly supportive of it and in four years we have had no problems whatsoever with it," Carruthers said. "No complaints, that anything untoward is happening or that it’s being abused in any way. So, it has worked out very well, and I think it contributes just a level of comfort and safety and acceptance for gender variant students."

Two weeks later, signage was made and an existing double bathroom was designated as gender neutral.

"That was a big deal to the kids," Carruthers said. "I think it is a big deal."

Issues arise periodically, Carruthers said, when substitutes take over classrooms.

"But we work very hard for teachers when they have their rosters for their subs to make sure that they correct names on the rosters so students won’t be embarrassed by being called the wrong name," Carruthers said.

Recently, some of the school's students have identified as gender fluid, using the pronouns "they and "them."

"We’ve had some great leadership from some transgender students over the last few years who have been willing to talk to younger students or who just even come up before the school and talk about what it means to be transgender," Carruthers said. "And so, there’s kind of a constant education process going on formally and informally."

The school has several committees relating to identity, including a feminism committee and students of color committee.

"It's kind of the culture of the school to be constantly educating ourselves," Carruthers said. "It isn't like you're handed a packet when you come in the door."

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Terminology:

Want to stay up to date on the terminology associated with gender identity? Here is a list of definitions, according to the New York State Department of Education.

Assigned sex at birth: The sex designation, usually "male" or "female," assigned to a person when they are born.

The sex designation, usually "male" or "female," assigned to a person when they are born. Cisgender: A person whose gender identity corresponds to the sex they were assigned at birth.

A person whose gender identity corresponds to the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender expression: How a person represents or expresses gender to others, often through behavior, clothing, hairstyles, activities, voice or mannerisms.

How a person represents or expresses gender to others, often through behavior, clothing, hairstyles, activities, voice or mannerisms. Gender identity: A person's gender-related identity, appearance or behavior. This may or may not be the same as their assigned sex at birth.

A person's gender-related identity, appearance or behavior. This may or may not be the same as their assigned sex at birth. Gender nonconforming (GNC): A person whose gender expression differs from stereotypical expectations. The terms "gender variant" or "gender atypical" are also used. Gender nonconforming individuals may identify as male, female, or neither.

A person whose gender expression differs from stereotypical expectations. The terms "gender variant" or "gender atypical" are also used. Gender nonconforming individuals may identify as male, female, or neither. Sexual orientation: A person's emotional and sexual attraction to other people based on the gender of the other person. Sexual orientation is not the same as gender identity. Not all transgender youth identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual, and not all gay, lesbian and bisexual youth display gender-nonconforming characteristics.

A person's emotional and sexual attraction to other people based on the gender of the other person. Sexual orientation is not the same as gender identity. Not all transgender youth identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual, and not all gay, lesbian and bisexual youth display gender-nonconforming characteristics. Transgender: A person whose gender identity does not correspond to their assigned sex at birth.

A person whose gender identity does not correspond to their assigned sex at birth. Transition: The process by which a person socially and/or physically aligns their gender expression more closely to their actual gender identity and away from that associated with their assigned sex at birth.

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