Our History

Supporting LGBTQ+ Educators since 2013

For the past six years, the Proud Educator Network (formerly Proud Teacher Initiative) has been working to support LGBTQ+ educators in their efforts to be effective role-models in schools.  Located in New York City, PEN brings together teachers, principals, counselors, paraprofessionals and other school personnel, offering a supportive, safe community where reflection on the intersection of gender identity, sexual orientation and professional practice is possible.

Origins

The Proud Teacher Initiative began in 2013-2014, when a small group of gay and lesbian elementary educators met with Professor Wayne A. Reed to discuss ways seasoned LGBTQ teachers might support LGBTQ preservice student teachers.  A professor in the School of Education at Brooklyn College and a gay educator himself, Professor Reed invited the group to join him in a series of conversations, to explore the ways in which queer identity influenced their work. Reed’s intention was to turnkey the knowledge gained from these conversations to gay-identified pre-service teachers and to eventually provide new LGBTQ+ teachers with mentors and role-models. 

Professor Reed and the eight practitioners soon discovered that they, as seasoned, tenured educators were in need of safe spaces to negotiate their identity in schools.  In meetings that lasted the remainder of the 2013-2014 school year, the eight educators explored the challenges and possibilities of self-disclosing in schools. In subsequent months, group members observed that self-disclosure by queer teachers, even in Brooklyn’s so-called “progressive” elementary schools, was not common.

Over the course of six months, each educator in the group identified ways they might more fully actualize their sexual orientation and/or gender identity in the classroom. Throughout the process, the group provided support and feedback, as each practitioner explored the uniqueness of their school context and the challenges associated with being “out”.  Teachers who took steps to self-disclose to students, families and colleagues found that sharing themselves more authentically increased their efficacy in schools. On May 4, 2014, the teachers and principals shared their findings in a panel presentation for pre-service teachers at Brooklyn College. 

In the years since, the Proud Teacher Initiative expanded its work by hosting regular events for LGBTQ public school educators in the New York City area. In June 2017, we held our first city-wide event, the Standing Proud conference at the LGBT Community Center in Manhattan, with Alex Gino, author of George, serving as keynote speaker. In subsequent months, we hosted monthly meetings and social gatherings in various locations around the city and worked to establish collaborative relationships with other LGBTQ institutions and organizations.