Subject: GLSTN RELEASES NEW VIDEO ON HOMOPHOBIA IN SCHOOLS
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 1996 19:25:34 -0400

GLSTN News Release

For Immediate Release

GLSTN
122 West 26th Street
Suite 1100
New York, NY 10001
Tel: 212.727.0135
Fax: 212.727.0254
Email: [email-masked]
Web: http://www.glstn.org/respect/

Contact:  Diedre Cuffee-Gray, Media Coordinator or Kevin Jennings, 
Executive Director: 212-727-0135

GLSTN RELEASES NEW VIDEO ON HOMOPHOBIA IN SCHOOLS TO SUPPORT  
BACK-TO-SCHOOL CAMPAIGN 

PREMIERE SET FOR PHILADELPHIA SEPT. 28

(New York, NY - September 19, 1996)The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight 
Teachers Network (GLSTN) announced today the release of its new video 
Teaching Respect for All as part of its Second Annual "Back-to-School" 
Campaign. Based on the staff training program GLSTN developed for the 
Massachusetts Department of Education (the first-ever statewide training 
program in the U.S.), the 50 minute video helps teachers, parents, and 
community members understand why schools need to address anti-gay bias if 
they are to achieve their mission of educating all students to the best 
of their ability.  Staged each September, the Back-to-School Campaign 
works to get lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults and their supporters to 
write to their old schools demanding action to end homophobia,

Kevin Jennings, GLSTN's Executive Director, said of the video, "With over 
7,000 people having already sent Back-to-School letters, we wanted to 
provide a concrete resource for schools that are being motivated to take 
action.  Teaching Respect for All gives them a tool they can use to 
increase the awareness of the community and the skills of school staff."  
Jennings, who conducted the training filmed in Teaching Respect for All 
before a live audience in Philadelphia in July, added, "We're trying to 
help people understand that homophobia in schools keeps students from 
learning and, once they understand that, most schools will do the right 
thing."

Teaching Respect for All will be premiered in the city where it was 
filmed, Philadelphia, on Saturday, Sept. 28. at 1:00 p.m. at the Arch 
Street Meeting House.  "People loved being part of the filming process," 
said Megan Spears, GLSTN/Philadelphia Co-Chair, "and are very eager to 
see the final product." Other GLSTN chapters will stage premieres in 
their communities in coming months, and the tape will also be available 
(along with an accompanying training manual) for mail order purchase. 
"We've been watching the Radical Right put out all kinds of videos about 
how we're 'after children' for years," said Jennings "and we're glad to 
finally have something that will help teachers and parents understand the 
truth -- that schools simply aren't good schools when they allow anti-gay 
bigotry to flourish."

--30--

Reporters Note: Stills from Teaching Respect for All are available in 
electronic JPEG files to accompany this story by calling Deidre 
Cuffee-Gray at 212-727-0135 or via e-mail at [email-masked].

For further information: More information on the Philadelphia premiere 
can is available at 215-546-7030.  Copies of Teaching Respect for All and 
its accompanying training manual are $59.95 plus $3.00 for shipping and 
handling and may be ordered with either Mastercard or Visa by calling 
212-727-0135 or by sending a check to GLSTN at 122 W. 26 St. Suite 1100 
New York, NY 10001.

With over forty chapters, and a membership of over four thousand 
teachers, parents, and concerned citizens, GLSTN is the largest national 
organization working to insure that schools are places where all people 
are respected and valued, regardless of sexual orientation.  Its 
Back-to-School Campaign is one of many programs it sponsors to raise 
awareness among teachers, students, and the community at large about the 
damaging impact anti-gay bias has on students and the learning process.  

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