Giving Compass' Take:

• Sam Long recounts his positive experience coming out as a trans man to his high school students, and ways that educators can create supportive environments for trans teachers. 

• Long mentions that the Trans/Nonbinary Educators Network in Denver provides networking opportunities and social support for trans educators. How can donors invest in support systems for LGBTQ professionals to thrive in the workplace?

• Read a report on how the majority of LGBTQ foundation workers are "in the closet."

The decision to come out as a trans teacher has never been easy. Every August, as new students arrive, I wonder whether I want to share this part of myself. For most of the time I have been teaching, the Trump administration has targeted the transgender community: rolling back Obama-era protections for transgender students, plotting to exclude trans people from civil rights protections, and banning trans people from serving in the military.

In this precarious national atmosphere, I have the privilege to choose whether I am out at school—or not. I transitioned before entering the workforce, I pass as a man, and my identity documents all match. I could keep my story private, and initially I did but found that in the relationship-driven world of teaching, my silence brought profound isolation.

Schools operate on a gender binary, divided into misters and the misses, the girls’ bathrooms and the boys’. We as teachers are expected to instruct, lead, inspire, and thrive within these confines. When a teacher publicly transgresses the expectations of gender, the entire community reacts.

Although my experience has been overwhelmingly positive, many other educators have been silenced, reprimanded, and terminated after talking about their trans identity. My friend Harper Keenan created the Trans/Nonbinary Educators Network, which provides social support and professional networking opportunities.

There are ways that educators and school officials can support us:

  • Listen to the expert
  • Identify and investigate your own biases
  • Embrace gender diversity as an asset
  • Stand behind the trans educator
  • Share the work of creating an inclusive school climate
  • Develop official policy to support transgender staff

Read the full article about how to support trans teachers in school settings by Sam Long at YES! Magazine.