CLEVELAND – A new School of One run by the Cleveland Metropolitan School District aims to create a space for students who identify as LGBTQ +.
During the pandemic, classes will be online, but once hybrid learning is available, school leaders will be hoping for a number of students at the LGBT Community Center in Detroit. CMSD says it is the first of its kind in the country.
“I’m surprised. I really didn’t think it was going to be that easy,” said DaJon Battle, a program manager at the district. Battle, who identifies as Queer, said representation in schools is important.
This is not the first School of One for the district. The program has eight other sites. The School of One is based online and students work at their own pace.
Battle said the pandemic was the only roadblock to start the school.
“There was no recoil,” said Battle. ‘Not from the board. Not from Mr. Eric Gordon. Not from a director. I literally walked up to my principal one day and said, ‘I’d like to open a School of One in the LGBT center. And he was like ‘okay’. “
Funding for these School of One programs comes from the district’s general fund.
Battle is leading the attack in the district to add more inclusive learning opportunities for students.
“They didn’t feel like their story was being heard,” Battle said of the experiences of LGBTQ students. “And so I thought it was very important to open a school where our students can just be normal.”
So far, Battle has said student responses have been good.
“As if they really felt that I should be seen,” she said. “My voice is heard and I am not comfortable with who I am.”
Roman Sardo-Longo is a new student at the School of One. He started at the end of 2020.
“When I was growing up, I’ve always really liked math. I’ve always excelled at math,” he said. Sardo-Longo now takes classes online through the School of One program. “And so I liked it because it made me feel smart. And I feel like if everyone else felt smart about math, they would like it too.”
The School of One online structure differs from the traditional school structure translated into virtual education. Students in the School of One program through the LGBT center can attend a morning session or an afternoon session of online learning.
Although he’s only been with the program for a few weeks, he said the transition was seamless.
“It’s really easy to just get caught up in all the mean things people say to you or the weird looks they give you at school,” he said. But here it’s like no one – as if everyone knows what you’re going through. Everyone knows that everyone has been there. ‘
Battle said the School of One program accepts students through rolling enrollment and that students don’t have to identify themselves as LGBTQ + to apply, “you just have to respect the culture and the environment.”
“You know, when you’re surrounded by people who are also LGBT, it just feels normal,” Sardo-Longo said.
Despite the pandemic, Battle is already looking to the future. The partnership between CMSD and the LGBT Community Center means students can take classes through the downtown district if they wish, then switch to downtown programming when classes for the day are over.
Soon, Battle hopes to implement LGBTQ history in the courses.
“I’m very excited because I feel that even many LGBT youth don’t know our history that well,” said Sardo-Longo. “I mean, I won’t say I know it very well.”
And for Sardo-Longo, the option for an inclusive school environment in Cleveland makes the School of One an even better choice.
“It’s very reassuring that Cleveland can be a place where we can feel safe and it feels very good.”