The film "It's Elementary" was our program yesterday

We're so glad we had such a great turnout for our program yesterday when we showed "It's Elementary - Talking About Gay Issues In School"! We had a wide range of ages at the meeting from about 10 to 80, including teachers, students, a school psychologist, at least two mental health counselors, parents, and other interested people in our community. However, the school-connected people who attended were people already involved with PFLAG; none of the school people Jeff invited showed up, which was disappointing even though we understand that summer is a bad time to get attendance from teachers, administrators and school staff.

Most of the people who did come had never seen this first film, so we are glad we decided to show it at this time. We plan to show the sequel "It's STILL Elementary" at a later date.

We had a great discussion afterwards including a reaction from one person who talked about the importance of allies being visible and vocal in their support of glbtq people and issues; and one high school student who said seeing this confirms her commitment to becoming a teacher.

For those of you who want more information on the film and how to order it, go to It's Elementary.

GroundSpark (formerly Women’s Educational Media) creates visionary films and dynamic educational campaigns that move individuals and communities to take action for a more just world. Based in San Francisco, it is a small, Academy Award-winning media production and education organization with a strong national reputation for producing high quality documentary films that open up dialogue about prejudice and discrimination and spark shifts in attitudes, behaviors, laws and policies. Over the past 20 years, GroundSpark has pioneered a long-term social change strategy that pairs media distribution with political and community organizing, and offering professional development on how to use our films to make a difference.

A leader in the field of anti-bias education, GroundSpark’s primary current focus is its Respect For All Project (RFAP). Through the distribution of award-winning films, accompanying curricula, and a training program aimed at educators, youth service providers and parents, the project strives to create safe schools and communities by opening up dialogue about diversity, prejudice and discrimination. Through this work GroundSpark has been a national pioneer advocating for the inclusion of age-appropriate curricula that addresses anti-gay bias.