When the Drama Club Is Not Enough: Lessons from the Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students

In 1989, 30% of youth suicides were committed by homosexual teens, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Among the activists and service providers who were prompted to create outreach programs to gay youth are Jeff Perrotti and Kim Westheimer, coauthors of When the Drama Club Is Not Enough: Lessons from the Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students and the founding and current director (respectively) of the Massachusetts Department of Education initiative. They tell of their experiences with supporters, opponents, legislators, faculty, administrators and students, including one high school football team captain who sought the authors' advice on coming out to his team. (They strategized with coaches and administrators, and the captain won his teammates' support.) Numerous accounts and testimonies, not all of them happy, enliven this guide for introducing gay rights protection into schools. (June 22)