GILROY
– An open-minded atmosphere on the Gilroy High School campus,
combined with a no-tolerance policy and anti-harassment training,
could help deter harassment and ensure that students feel accepted
at school.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – An open-minded atmosphere on the Gilroy High School campus, combined with a no-tolerance policy and anti-harassment training, could help deter harassment and ensure that students feel accepted at school.
Gilroy Unified School District already has anti-harassment training in place for both teachers and students, but officials said they may re-examine or expand the program in light of a lawsuit settlement that requires Morgan Hill School District’s administrators, teachers and students to undergo specific training for the next four years.
“As a result of some of the issues that we heard about in Morgan Hill, we thought it might be a good idea to look at our training and our requirements,” Superintendent Edwin Diaz said. “Sometimes, when something like this happens, it makes you again look back at your own policies.”
Diaz said GHS Principal Bob Bravo earlier this year began looking into anti-harassment training for teachers offered through the Santa Clara County Office of Education to supplement training they already receive.
“In terms of sensitivity training, that goes farther than the (existing) policy,” Bravo said.
School Board President Jaime Rosso said trustees will review GUSD’s harassment training as they continue to review board policies and procedures. However, they haven’t received any complaints.
“That’s something that has to be a concern of not just the public sector but the private sector – in other words, we’re aware of it,” he said. “No doubt, it’s something that we will bring up and we will review.”
Morgan Hill school and district officials, who were sued by six former students claiming that their reports of anti-gay harassment were ignored, have maintained they already provided anti-harassment training. Bravo said that GHS “can have more” training and dialogue on campus.
“It always makes you think are we doing what we should be doing?” he said. “That just reinforces, yeah, that was something that we probably needed.”
At the beginning of each school year, Annie Tomasello, healthy start student support services coordinator, outlines for school staff different types of harassment, providing examples of inappropriate behavior.
“We have specific information that we provide employees, especially new employees, every year,” Diaz said.
School district employees are educated on laws pertaining to harassment on campus and in the workplace and procedures for reporting instances of harassment.
Starting this year, seventh- and ninth-graders will take an annual 50-minute training session dealing with harassment based on sexual orientation.
In GUSD, discussion of anti-gay harassment is included in classroom presentations and schoolwide assemblies for students, Tomasello said. A team of GHS staff is available to educate classrooms throughout the district, she said.
Community Solutions is one outside organization that offers student anti-harassment training, focusing on sexual assault.
“The schools take a very strong stance against sexual harassment,” said Vicki Caballero, coordinator for Community Solutions’ rape crisis program. The program visits all GUSD schools yearly, including kindergarten classes.
For older students, the organization defines harassment, providing examples through role-playing, and tells how to prevent and report it.
“We talk about. The consequences can be very severe if a person chooses not to listen” when someone says ‘no,’ Caballero said. A student can be suspended or expelled and the police may get involved, depending on the charge.
“Our rule of thumb is that, if the law is broken and there can be a citation from law enforcement, we want a citation,” Bravo said.
GHS students filed 17 reports of harassment last year, although some of those refer to the same incident. There were no reports of sexual harassment, according to Assistant Principal Mani Corzo.
The harassment reported was usually verbal assault, he said.
Tomasello said she thinks the GHS campus is an open-minded place that welcomes all students.
The Morgan Hill students’ lawsuit is five years old, and it’s possible the atmosphere on school campuses is becoming less hostile toward homosexuals with more open discussion of sexuality and anti-gay harassment in the general public.
Tomasello said TV programs featuring homosexuality in a positive or even humorous light – “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” “Will and Grace,” “The L Word” – influence students’ attitudes.
“If kids watch that and see how comfortable people are with that, and how accepting they are of that, it’s easier for them to accept (homosexuality),” Tomasello said.
GHS Senior Brittany Drake agreed that students generally feel safe and accepted on campus.
“It’s not a problem for me, I don’t think it’s a problem for other people,” she said.
Drake, editor-in-chief of The Free Press, GHS’ student newspaper, said there is some discussion of gay issues on campus. In a recent issue, she said, a student wrote an opinion column encouraging students to be accepting of gay students. Also, many teachers have signs posted, reading, “There’s no room for homophobia in this classroom,” Drake said.
It brought up the issue of homophobia and made people aware of it, she said.
“And the wonderful thing, too, is that for students who are struggling with their sexual identity, there are people here on campus that they can come and talk to,” Tomasello said.
In particular, a GHS club called the Gay/Straight Alliance is highly visible on campus, she said.
If harassment is reported, resources are readily available on campus.
“You always try to form a team of people to have a conflict resolution,” Corzo said. At GHS, students may meet with social workers who are on staff in the student services office.
“You want to counsel the (victim) to make sure they are safe. That’s the most important thing, the safety of the other student,” Corzo said.
The alleged aggressor also receives counseling and is required to attend eight weeks of one-hour tolerance and sensitivity training sessions. Through intervention, the conflict is usually resolved.
“We’re very lucky that we have all these resources here, and most of the time, we can make that happen,” Corzo said.
