Bethy Leonardi, PhD (2014, EFPP)聽and Sara Staley, PhD Candidate (Literacy)聽have been working on a groundbreaking documentary聽called Breaking the Silence: Honoring the Voices of LGBTQ Youth and Allies in Supporting our Teachers.听
As featured聽by聽ABC News Denver,听the聽, the Boulder County Business Report,听the Colorado Springs聽,听and others, the film聽was one of eight projects chosen聽to be included in a new CU-Boulder Crowdfunding initiative to raise funds through charitable contributions.
The film draws from聽an April 2013 panel of LGBTQ youth talking with聽75 pre-service and in-service teachers about creating safe and inclusive schools,听as well as over 30 interviews with faculty, teachers, students, and community members.听As one project of a broader initiative, A Queer Endeavor, the聽aims of the聽film are to "break the silence"聽in our community聽and to reach out to聽other communities by聽collaborating with schools of education across the country.
The campaign reached its聽goal of raising over聽$20,000 with over 200聽supporters!聽With the funds, A Queer Endeavor will complete聽the film and create聽four short, focused videos with accompanying curriculum materials, which will be used in teacher education and in professional development.
We greatly聽appreciate the overwhelming support given to聽creating safe and inclusive schools. Stay tuned with聽A Queer Endeavor聽for information on the completed film, videos, and curricular materials, as well as other important projects such as their well-attended Teacher Institutes.
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