USSN: Speaking Up

For nearly two years a spotlight has focused on Novato’s struggle over diversity education.

The need for expanding our diversity education became apparent after several Hate Crimes, and numerous reports of teasing and bullying (lesser offenses, but ones which hurt, create an unsafe environment and can lead to more serious offenses). Most often, students publicly reported frequent use of gay slurs.

Through a grant from the Marin Community Foundation, the Novato Unified School District sent staff to the "Tools for Tolerance" training and our School Board approved the piloting of 6 diversity materials; costs also covered by this grant. NUSD policies on responding to intolerance have also been further defined.

We are moving forward understanding that we need to be proactive, educating students on tolerance and respect.

Novato’s public debate on how best to counter intolerance, brought up many questions. Should we address sexual orientation in our schools, and if not, is correcting the offenders enough? We know that students frequently won’t ‘tattle’, what about that? Our school’s are already teaching respect, why not for this group? Since our schools do teach social skills, and teasing and disrespect was occurring at school, shouldn’t we then address the problem there?

School committees reached the consensus that leaving sexual orientation out of our diversity discussion, and this being the only group consistently left out, was having a deleterious effect. Silence often condones disrespect, and in this instance it seems that it had. Beyond that, our state mandates protection for all students, including those of all sexual orientations. And most importantly, our hearts and minds told us that it was unacceptable to have our students feel unsafe for any reason.

Those reviewing curriculum considered materials that included as many students and families as possible. With this in mind, recommended and approved for piloting was the video, "That’s A Family!" (with opt-out option).

The video, presenting many ‘alternative’ families including gay and lesbian ones, became a focus of our controversy, with many voicing their opinion. The conversation has sometimes been uncomfortable, even painful. But, what is important is that dialogue has/is occurring, and the school board is tackling difficult issues with care and strength.

Our city responds to intolerance in multiple ways: through our Police Dept., our Multicultural Commission and the NUSD Board, Administration and Diversity Advisory. More recently, a grass roots coalition, United for Safe Schools Novato (USSN), was formed to further ensure that ALL our students, staff and community feel safe and respected (www.unitedsafe.com).

Novato has taken a hard look at ways to respond to the unacceptable. We’ve come together and created something exciting for our schools. This is not about soundbite, our work is tangible and laudable. We’re proud that we’ve recognized our issues and are taking steps to create safer schools.

Hopefully every community is asking the question Novato needed to ask: are we doing everything we can to ensure the safety and inclusion of all our students? A recent poll by the National Mental Health Assn. states 80% of all students have witnessed anti-gay slurs, and we certainly know this isn’t the only area of diversity where there needs to be more educaton.

Many of us are proud of the leadership Novato has taken in response to intolerance, first through our Police Dept and Multicultural Commission, and now through our school district. Kudos to our police chief and our school trustees for leading us with wisdom and compassion! Perhaps this leadership was foisted on us by ugly events, but what’s important is that despite controversy, we’re proceeding in a positive direction.

I am proud to say I live and work in the City of Novato!

Lynne Wasley

(Ms. Wasley is co-chair of United for Safe Schools Novato (USSN), NUSD parent and mother of five, and served on the City of Novato Multicultural Commission and the NUSD Diversity Advisory. She is one of the 2002 MLK, Jr. Humanitarian award winners)


	For nearly two years a spotlight has focused on Novato’s struggle over diversity education. The need for expanding our diversity education became apparent after several Hate Crimes, and numerous reports of teasing and bullying (lesser offenses, but ones which hurt, create an unsafe environment and can lead to more serious offenses). Most often, students publicly reported frequent use of gay slurs. Through a grant from the Marin Community Foundation, the Novato Unified School District sent staff to the "Tools for Tolerance" training and our School Board approved the piloting of 6 diversity materials; costs also covered by this grant. NUSD policies on responding to intolerance have also been further defined. We are moving forward understanding that we need to be proactive, educating students on tolerance and respect. Novato’s public debate on how best to counter intolerance, brought up many questions. Should we address sexual orientation in our schools, and if not, is correcting the offenders enough? We know that students frequently won’t ‘tattle’, what about that? Our school’s are already teaching respect, why not for this group? Since our schools do teach social skills, and teasing and disrespect was occurring at school, shouldn’t we then address the problem there? School committees reached the consensus that leaving sexual orientation out of our diversity discussion, and this being the only group consistently left out, was having a deleterious effect. Silence often condones disrespect, and in this instance it seems that it had. Beyond that, our state mandates protection for all students, including those of all sexual orientations. And most importantly, our hearts and minds told us that it was unacceptable to have our students feel unsafe for any reason. Those reviewing curriculum considered materials that included as many students and families as possible. With this in mind, recommended and approved for piloting was the video, "That’s A Family!" (with opt-out option). The video, presenting many ‘alternative’ families including gay and lesbian ones, became a focus of our controversy, with many voicing their opinion. The conversation has sometimes been uncomfortable, even painful. But, what is important is that dialogue has/is occurring, and the school board is tackling difficult issues with care and strength. Our city responds to intolerance in multiple ways: through our Police Dept., our Multicultural Commission and the NUSD Board, Administration and Diversity Advisory. More recently, a grass roots coalition, United for Safe Schools Novato (USSN), was formed to further ensure that ALL our students, staff and community feel safe and respected (www.unitedsafe.com). Novato has taken a hard look at ways to respond to the unacceptable. We’ve come together and created something exciting for our schools. This is not about soundbite, our work is tangible and laudable. We’re proud that we’ve recognized our issues and are taking steps to create safer schools. Hopefully every community is asking the question Novato needed to ask: are we doing everything we can to ensure the safety and inclusion of all our students? A recent poll by the National Mental Health Assn. states 80% of all students have witnessed anti-gay slurs, and we certainly know this isn’t the only area of diversity where there needs to be more educaton. Many of us are proud of the leadership Novato has taken in response to intolerance, first through our Police Dept and Multicultural Commission, and now through our school district. Kudos to our police chief and our school trustees for leading us with wisdom and compassion! Perhaps this leadership was foisted on us by ugly events, but what’s important is that despite controversy, we’re proceeding in a positive direction. I am proud to say I live and work in the City of Novato! Lynne Wasley (Ms. Wasley is co-chair of United for Safe Schools Novato (USSN), NUSD parent and mother of five, and served on the City of Novato Multicultural Commission and the NUSD Diversity Advisory. She is one of the 2002 MLK, Jr. Humanitarian award winners)
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