NYC to open nation's first gay school

[d]

The Harvey Milk High School, a high school specifically for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gender pupils will open in New York this September.

According to the New York Post, it will be the first publicly funded school of its kind and aims to have 170 pupils within a year.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said: “Everybody feels that it`s a good idea because some of the kids who are gays and lesbians have been constantly harassed and beaten in other schools and this lets them get an education without having to worry."

For nearly the last two decades the schools has been operating unofficially as an alternative programme with just two classrooms.

William Salzman, the Principal of the Harvey Milk High School told the New York Post: “This school will be a model for the country and possibly the world. This is not a touchy-feely situation. We intend to have 95% of our students go on to college."

State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long criticised the school as "social engineering" and a waste of taxpayers` money.

He said: "Is there a different way to teach homosexuals? Is there gay math? This is wrong. This makes absolutely no sense.There`s no reason these children should be treated separately. What next? Maybe we should have schools for chubby kids who get picked on. Maybe all kids who wear glasses should have special schools. It`s ridiculous".

[NYCe]

This is great and it's about time something like this was established. I know many girls who started transitioning around junior high/high school age and if anyone knows anything about New York City high schools, or high schools in general, they can be cruel and vicious places. Some girls dropped out because it just became too difficult to go to school.

[NYCe]

You're thinking about Hetrick-Martin Institute's Harvey Milk Program in the Village (by NYU). It was not a full high school, it was only an alternate program with two classrooms. This one is going to be a full high school in a renovated building, like Martin Luther King HS, or Kennedy HS.

[longman]

Cool idea in theory.
But is social seperation the best idea?
Racial seperation hasn't worked.
Very true NYC HS are cruel...But isn't seperation just prolonging the inevitable. What happens when college starts? Grown folks are even more cruel than kids. I do realize that someone who is 18 will be able to deal with things emotionally better than a 14 yr old, but with cruel is cruel & that what people have to be ready to embrace. Unless there will be a class on how society feels about the gay/les community there's really no reason to seperate them. Its all the same curriculum. But with them seperated like freaks of nature there will be a real reason for cruelty towards them.

Just my 2 cents.....

[longman]

I re-read my post & have a typo.
separate is the correct spelling ... didn't wan't you to think I skipped out on school.

great discussion topic though...