Harvey Milk High School

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Harvey Milk High School
Harvey Milk High School Entrance by David Shankbone.jpg
type of school High school
founding 1985
address

2 Astor Place

place Manhattan , New York City
State new York
Country United States
Coordinates 40 ° 43 '47 "  N , 73 ° 59' 34"  W Coordinates: 40 ° 43 '47 "  N , 73 ° 59' 34"  W.
carrier New York City Department of Education and Hetrick-Martin Institute
student 64
management Daphne Perrini
Website www.hmhsnyc.org

The Harvey Milk High School is a mainly, but not exclusively, gay, bisexual and transgender young people reserved High School in the East Village (Manhattan) . It was founded in April 1985 as a project with only two rooms and 20 students and was initially operated by the Hetrick-Martin Institute , which is now the patron. This made it the 38th special school in New York that was available for children and young people with special needs. It is named after the openly gay councilor of San Francisco , Harvey Milk, who was murdered in 1978 .

In 2002, HMHS was converted from a private to a public school, while also gaining full recognition as a four-year high school. It is now under the supervision of the New York City Department of Education and is part of a system of schools for students who, for various reasons, have major problems in “normal” high schools. After the renovation and extension, it currently houses around 170 students, 95% of whom are dark-skinned or Latin American, mostly from poor families. A relatively large number of students were rejected by their parents after they came out , 10% of the students live in nursing homes. Many students have also attempted at least one suicide . 13% of the students are heterosexual themselves, but were e.g. B. bullied because of their gay and lesbian parents. Research by the National Mental Health Organization found that 30% of homosexual students in standard high schools are threatened, assaulted, or injured. The HMHS, on the other hand, offers security from daily persecution and threats. The graduation rate is far better than any other New York school: 95% graduate and 60% college entrance . According to SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States), the drop-out rate for homosexual students in other schools is three times higher than for heterosexual youth.

The expansion of the school in 2003 with an investment of 3.2 million dollars was supported by Mayor Michael Bloomberg , although he was still a member of the Republican Party at the time . The Democratic State Senator Rubén Díaz, on the other hand, who wanted to ban the Gay Games Sports Festival because it could cause the spread of AIDS , sued the school in the New York Supreme Court because he found that $ 3.2 million in tax money for "100 Schoolchildren, only because of their sexual orientation, “is an illegal disadvantage for heterosexual children who have to go to poorer schools. The lawsuit was dismissed. Many civil rights activists also consider such a school to be the wrong move. Norman Siegel, Director of the Freedom Legal Defense and Education Project, demands: “Don't weed out the victims, but the perpetrators”.

Comparable facilities

  • A similar institution exists with Alliance High School in Milwaukee .
  • In 1997, in Chicago , sexual orientation was included in the non-discrimination policy of public schools. The implementation by the schools by changing the manuals is dragging on and students are struggling to establish Gay Straight Alliances . From 2008 onwards there will be public discussions about the establishment of what was first called the “Social Justice High School — Pride Campus”. It should accommodate around 600 students, half of whom should be LGBTQs. When voting on a total of 14 new school projects, the decision on this project was postponed after two parents objected. They were of the opinion that the "schools should withdraw from the bedrooms" and go back to the 3 Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic). The school should not be a place for a future political agenda. Better to help them out of this lifestyle and not help them get into it. Because of the separation, the project was also discussed among homosexuals and homosexual-friendly people. As a result, the concept was revised to include all disenfranchised students and the name was changed to "Social Justice Solidarity High School". Some believe that if you want to separate you should create your own school for the tyrants.
  • In January 2010, the "GLBTQ Online High School" based in Maplewood, Minnesota will start operations. It is intended to reach young people in rural areas who do not have access to the otherwise existing resources. David Johnson, a social psychology teacher at the University of Minnesota , sees the danger in keeping students isolated and feeling neglected. It would be much better if students went to regular high school. There are several online high schools in general that offer advantages, for example, when you have to stay at home due to illness, when you want to learn at your own pace, when you have trouble concentrating in a normal school environment or when learning has to adapt to a career such as actors.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Harvey Milk High School . New York City Department of Education
  2. ^ A b Gay High , Time Magazine, June 17, 1985
  3. ↑ Jennifer Vanasco: New Chicago schools boss settles in ( Memento of the original from April 12, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , 365gay.com, February 6, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.365gay.com
  4. ↑ Jennifer Morales: Morales: An LGBT high school is not a ghetto ( Memento of the original from October 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , 365gay.com, October 2, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.365gay.com
  5. ↑ Mayor opposes Chicago gay school ( Memento of the original from February 9, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , 365gay.com, October 23, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.365gay.com
  6. ↑ Proposed Chicago gay school retooled ( Memento of the original dated February 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , 365gay.com, November 18, 2008 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.365gay.com
  7. ↑ Retooled Chicago school plan again delayed  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , 365gay.com, November 19, 2008@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.365gay.com  
  8. ↑ www.glbtqonlinehighschool.com
  9. ↑ Online gay-friendly high school launching in January ( Memento of the original from August 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , 365gay.com, August 6, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.365gay.com
  10. ↑ Jamie Littlefield: Get Your High School Diploma Online , about.com, accessed August 8, 2009

Web links