A private therapeutic high school for LGBTQ+ students is scheduled to open next fall on the site of the former Cummington Inn, in the foothills of the Berkshires.
For co-founder Allison Druin, the project is deeply personal. It was difficult for her and her husband to find the right school for their son, a transgender teen who is now a sophomore in college.
“Our own kid was struggling with anxiety and depression, and we were looking for good options for him with regard to education,’’ said Druin, a Windsor resident. “We wanted a place that saw him for his whole self, and that included being part of the LGBTQ community.’’
Druin, a computer science professor who most recently served as vice provost at the Pratt Institute in New York City, cofounded the J.S. Bryant School with her husband, Ben Bederson. The school bills itself as the first therapeutic high school for LGBTQ+ students in the country. It is one of several recently or soon-to-be-opened LGBTQ-affirming schools starting up nationwide.
In 2021, an LGBTQ-affirming public charter school opened in Birmingham, Ala. In New York City, a coalition of education and gay rights groups endorsed a planned gender-affirming charter school, though the project has not yet been authorized by state charter authorities.
J.S. Bryant School is opening as gay and trans youth face a wave of political and legal backlash across the country. Last year, 19 states passed laws banning gender-affirming medical care for minors, including puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery, according to a report from the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute. Following Donald Trump’s victory in November’s election, some Democrats — including US Representative Seth Moulton — suggested that supporting the right of trans students to participate in girls’ athletics had alienated voters.
Druin said that backlash is not lost on her. She believes it makes opening the school more crucial because it could serve as a haven for families from less LGBTQ-friendly states. “It’s always been in the back of our mind that we are blessed to be in Massachusetts,’’ Druin said.
The first class will have up to 38 students. Its programs, which include multiple forms of therapy, farming, and interdisciplinary academic instruction, are targeted at students who have struggled with belonging or experienced harassment at school. It’s also for students who are suffering from mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.
The school received operation approval from the Central Berkshire Regional School Committee and is seeking state accreditation as a therapeutic school.
The school will open as a day school, and there are plans to build dorms and host boarders in future years, Druin said.
