Lavender Prom hosted by Riverside County Office of Education
Contact Lisa Todd for details!
Educator Panel: Creating Safe Spaces Where Transgender and Non-binary Students Thrive
Equality California Mentorship Corps at Raymond Cree MS and Nellie Coffman MS
The Equality California Mentorship Corps currently has mentors working with kids at Desert Hot Springs High School, Raymond Cree Middle School, Nellie Coffman Middle School, Desert Springs Middle School, and Painted Hills Middle School.
Big thanks go out to Sofia St. John, the mentor at Raymond Cree Middle School, for sharing this update on the work being done there. More updates from other schools to come May issue!
Sofia writes:
I currently mentor students at Raymond Cree Middle School and I volunteer at the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert for my Americorps service. At Raymond Cree, I mentor twelve students between 6th and 8th grade. I truly adore my students and feel like I have learned so much from them. I have learned my best sessions revolve around art projects, which are often a way to create mutual ground to connect and discuss their life and school. I also support monthly meetings with the school’s gender and sexuality alliance, which helps me get to know and connect with the students. Even though I am their mentor, I really admire my mentees and their hard work. This work is so meaningful to me, as I am able to learn from such great students. At the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert, we get to be hands on with a bunch of different projects. We started a youth group at our Palm Springs location, and are currently putting together a movie screening! It is so cool to see our projects start from the ground up, and is so satisfying to finally see all our hard work put into action. I cannot wait to continue working in the nonprofit field so I can continue to support my community.Thanks also to Dorra Azizi, the mentor at Nellie Coffman Middle School.
Dorra writes:
The Equality California/Americorps mentoring program is being offered at Nellie Coffman Middle School this school year. During the first semester the school mentor was meeting with students after school hours and supporting mostly LGBTQ+ students. Starting from the second semester things changed a little in order to accommodate a bigger number of students. The Nellie Coffman school mentor started meeting with students during school hours. The mentorship program opened its doors to a bigger range of students who were very excited to receive the extra support and be offered another safe, judgment free space within their school to explore their emotions, needs, identity, and goals in order to live healthier, more balanced and more fulfilling lives.
2022-2023 Year at a Glance
If you would like your school's event or GSA meeting dates added to the calendar, email the PSUSD LGBTQ Alliance at lgbtq@psusd.us.
