Highland Park Superintendent Vows to “Stay Ahead of the Curve”

By Emily Lockatell

Governor Phil Murphy passed a law in the New Jersey Senate in Jan. 2019 requiring the boards of education include instruction that accurately portray LGBTQ identities.

“We want to support our students,” said Dr. Scott Taylor, Superintendent of the Highland Park public schools, “all our students.” Parents and students gathered together on Feb. 12, 2020 at half past 6 p.m. to learn about the changes to the schools’ curriculums in the upcoming school year. Starting this spring Highland Park and 11 other New Jersey school districts will be incorporating various LGBTQ-inclusive lesson plans into their current curriculums with the help of the advocacy group, Garden State Equality.

Cole Callahan and Ashley Chiappano addressed the group as representatives for Garden State Equality, highlighting the mission of their organization and how these lesson plans will impact the overall learning environment. “Our harassment, intimidation and bullying incidents have risen since last year, and after analysis I found that a majority of them related to sexual orientation. It is clear that we have a problem here,” said Taylor.

During the meeting Chiappano also pointed out the pressing concerns of parents and opened the floor for listeners to anonymously write questions and comments they had. One individual wrote “These lessons aren’t about queer people. They are about stereotypes,” to which Garden State Equality responded: “We are trying to open the door to LGBTQ topics and in order to provide context it is important to discuss concepts of gender, gender roles, and gender stereotypes.”

One of the biggest misconceptions, according to Garden State Equality, about the curriculum is that it will be forced upon teachers to incorporate and they will be told how to teach. “People have their own beliefs and there must be a level of respect for everyone’s values and identities,” said Callahan. “We are not asking people to change the way they think. We just want to represent the different people that make up the community.” Each educator of the 12 districts chosen to pilot the program will complete a survey based on their beliefs.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, members of the LGBTQ community are at a higher risk for suicidal thoughts and attempts. In fact four in ten transgender people will attempt suicide at some point in their lives.

“We want our kids to feel safe and it is really hard to focus on anything when they don’t feel safe,” said Callahan. “They are too focused on just making it through the day to be able to have clear ideas and ambitions for the future.”

Another anonymous note addressed to Garden State Equality read: “When will the community be given an opportunity to voice their concerns before the Board of Education rather than just listening to a presentation?”

Scott Taylor took it upon himself to answer this by informing listeners about the board of education meeting taking place on Feb. 24 in the Highland Park High School Cafeteria where parents and community members will have the chance to comment.

“I believe that this curriculum will help change the culture and overwhelming negative stigma associated with the LGBTQ community,” said Anne Gowen, a member of the Highland Park Board of Education, in a private interview. “I am hopeful that it will leave a positive impact because we live in a society surrounded by gay people and people of various identities and it is not okay to treat them any less than other people.”