By AILEEN BURKE
Staff Writer
Education is a field that is ever-evolving; as made clear in the mission statement of the College of Saint Rose, students need to work to serve the needs of the times. Now more than ever students in Kindergarten through High School are feeling comfortable and confident expressing their true gender identity and sexuality. The Council for Exceptional Children, in partnership with the Pride Center of the Capital Region, held an event in the Carondelet Symposium on Tuesday, Nov. 27 to talk with future educators about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning issues for students in the classroom.
The chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children at Saint Rose is constantly planning events for their department’s students to participate in, but professional development events of this nature have been rare occurrences so far for the club. This past October they hosted Jon Gilroy, a speaker who has cerebral palsy and is a part of the LGBTQ+ community; nonetheless, president Jacquelyn Fossati and her team still searched to offer more.
“I was teaching at Arlington Central school district in LaGrangeville, New York this past summer,” said Fossati. “My co-teacher was telling me that it was a really good professional development to host as often times we don’t know how to address same sex parents… and how we can help out students with something that can be difficult for them.”
Kelsi Taylor, the professional development coordinator for the Council, found the Pride Center of the Capital Region when looking for someone “local” to come and facilitate the event. The Pride Center has been in operation since 1970, and serves 10 counties in the area. According to Taylor, the Pride Center already does a lot of outreach within local schools; they do assemblies for students and workshops for current educators.
“I think it’s a really interesting topic,” said Taylor. “Especially because a lot of our members are prospective teachers. It’s something that needs to be talked about, and a lot of teachers that I have worked with in the field dance around the topic so I think it’s important to talk about and be aware of.”
The Council for Exceptional Children has always worked to promote inclusivity in classrooms. This event was no exception. The itinerary presented by the Pride Center’s Jen Maley-Wheeler and her intern included need to know definitions, good common practices, what to avoid doing in a classroom setting, challenges faced by LGBTQ+ youth, and how to be a more inclusive ally and educator.
“The CEC has always promoted inclusivity in the classroom, and it’s more than just students with disabilities,” said vice president of the council and education major, Malcolm Brownwell. “This will send the message that all students should be welcomed in schools.”
The 25 students in attendance were offered a great deal through this first time academic partnership. Those who completed this professional development received a certificate of completion from the Council for Exceptional Children for their personal academic records.
Freshman english education major, Andrew Lamendola, said he learned things that he knows he will use in his classrooms for years to come. Other attendees such as Justin Campbell, Tristyn Koren, and Fossati herself concurred; this event was of great benefit to them in regards to their respective futures.
This upcoming semester the Council plans on hosting Safe Zone training for future educators and those who might work with LGBTQ+ youth in their future occupations. Those dates and further details will be posted on their various social media accounts when the new semester begins.
“It’s important that the students feel seen,” said Lauren D’Annibale, a former Saint Rose undergraduate and graduate education student. D’Annibale is currently a teacher at Stephen and Harriet Myers Middle School, and member of the LGBTQ+ community herself.
“So many aren’t out to their friends, their families, sometimes not even to themselves, and it’s important that there is something stable in their lives that is supportive and open, and most importantly safe to turn to.”
