An incredible day...

I am incredibly proud of my students at Poinciana High School in Kissimmee, Florida. We held a vigil for Lawrence King this hour at our Memorial Garden. On this busy day at PHS we had over 100 students, staff, and our principal gathered in our courtyard to memorialize this young man whom none of us knew. We broke the silence as we spoke of acceptance and understanding for each other. The PHS GSA sponsored the event, the first of its kind at our school and one of only two Florida events listed on http://www.rememberinglawrence.org/ . I am honored that NEA has trained me to work with teachers and students throughout the US to further the cause for Safe Schools.

Ms Schaedel and I remarked how proud we are to teach at PHS. Our principal, Dr. Peter Straker, truly cares about our students and staff. In his first year as a principal, he is an exemplary leader and model for our students.

Teen murdered

I am disturbed, outraged, and furious at the lack of news/reporting on the death of 15 year old Lawrence King of Oxnard, California.

Lawrence was shot at point-blank range by a fellow student while in class on Tuesday of this week (Feb. 12). If it were not for Kevin Jennings of GLSEN and an e-mail announcement from Gay & Lesbian SmartBrief I would not have heard of this heinous crime.

What is wrong with our national media when they are not reporting this murder?

Looking for new trainers

NEA President Reg Weaver recently sent out a memo seeking new trainers for NEA's Safety, Bias, and GLBT Issues training program. The memo can be found at http://www.nea-glbtc.org/call_trainers.html . There is currently a group of about 45 trainers spread around the U.S. providing schools, colleges, and community groups with three different programs dealing with safety for all students.

The application for the training program that will be held in Chicago, July 15-17 may be found at http://www.nea-glbtc.org/Images/2008_Editable_Application_form.pdf .