CLEVELAND – A new School of One, administered by the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, is focused on creating a space for students who identify themselves as LGBTQ +.
During the pandemic, classes are online, but as soon as hybrid learning is available, school leaders hope to have some students at the LGBT Community Center in Detroit. The CMSD says it is the first of its kind in the country.
“It surprises me. I honestly didn’t think it would be that easy,” said DaJon Battle, district program administrator. Battle, who identifies himself as Queer, said school representation is important.
This is not the first School of One in the district. The program has eight other websites. School of One is online and students work at their own pace.
Battle said the only obstacle to starting school was the pandemic.
“There was no resistance,” said Battle. “Not from the board. Not from Mr. Eric Gordon. Not from a director. I literally went to my principal one day and said ‘I would like to open a School of One at the LGBT Center.’ And he said, ‘ok’. “
Funding for these School of One programs comes from the district’s general fund.
Battle is leading the movement in the district to add more inclusive learning opportunities for students.
“They didn’t think their story was being heard,” said Battle of the LGBTQ students’ experiences. “And then, I felt it was really important to open a school that just allows our students to be normal.”
So far, Battle said the students’ response has been good.
“As if they really feel that I can be seen,” she said. “My voice is being heard and I am not, now I am comfortable with who I am.”
Roman Sardo-Longo is a new student at School of One. He started in late 2020.
“As a child, I always loved math. I always excelled in math,” he said. Sardo-Longo is now taking classes online through the School of One program. “And then I liked it because it made me feel smart. And I feel that if everyone else felt smart in math, they would also like it.”
The School of One’s online structure differs from the traditional school structure that was translated into the virtual school. Students of the School of One program through the LGBT center can go for a morning session or an afternoon online learning session.
Even though he’s only been on the show for a few weeks, he said the transition was perfect.
“It’s very easy to get carried away by all the mean things people say or the strange looks they give you at school,” he said. “But here it is as if no one – as if everyone knows what you are going through. Everyone knows that everyone has been there.”
Battle said the School of One program accepts students through rotating enrollment and students do not need to identify themselves as LGBTQ + to enroll, but “you just need to respect culture and the environment”.
“You know, when you’re surrounded by people who are also LGBT, like, it looks normal,” said Sardo-Longo.
Despite the pandemic, Battle is already looking to the future. The partnership between the CMSD and the LGBT Community Center means that students can take classes through the district in the center, if they want, and then transition to the center’s schedule when classes are over.
Battle hopes to soon implement LGBTQ history in the course.
“I am very excited because I feel that many young LGBT people do not know our history very well,” said Sardo-Longo. “I mean, I’m not going to claim that I know you very well.”
And for Sardo-Longo, the opportunity for an inclusive school environment taking place in Cleveland makes School of One an even better choice.
“It’s very comforting that, like, Cleveland can be a place where we can feel safe and it’s very good.”