Pride Reading Day
Stacey Christenson
Every year at Northside Elementary we celebrate Pride month in a very intentional way. We start this celebration by training all staff using the Welcoming Schools curriculum put out by the Human Rights Campaign, to ensure educators feel equipped to teach throughout the month about topics surrounding the LGBTQ community.
Last year, we had a “Jazz and Friends Day” in which we read I Am Jazz in each classroom. Me and another community member who is part of the LGBTQ community were the guest readers. We led discussions and had great conversations with our students. The impact of this day of reading left myself and the other reader near tears. It is powerful not only to be seen, but included in this way. I had never felt more empowered and valued as a member of the LGBTQ community.
So, this year we moved our Pride month celebration to May so we had a full month and we had several ways we did this. Lessons were taught about the meaning of the progress flag, the building was decorated with pride posters representing famous people in the LGBTQ community, rainbow decor was throughout the building, we had lessons lead by our school counselor each week (gender pronouns, ally or bystander lesson, lessons on inclusion and Harvey Milk and the symbol of the rainbow flag for the older students). We had spirit days in which each day for a week we wore colors to celebrate our unique identities.
Pride Reading Day was one of the most impactful activities we did this week. The feeling I had when I got to read on our “Jazz and Friends Day” last year was one I wanted to share with others. So this year, we invited 10 guest readers all part of the LGBTQ community to read at our school for a day. We read the following books: Pink is for Boys, Heather Has Two Mommies, Red, Calvin, Love is Love, It Feels Good to be Yourself, and Love, Violet.
The impact of this special day and the month-long celebration was incredible. Educators said, “This is so important to validate my students and allow them to feel they can be true to who they really are.” One of our staff said, “It’s lovely to feel celebrated and like I can be my full self in our building.” A guest reader shared, “I am in awe of your teachers who have been around this topic and navigate questions with ease. I feel so seen. I feel a great sense of pride in your school today,” and “I enjoyed being able to share these new ‘windows, mirrors and sliding glass door’ books with students. This day was impactful to me personally, as I didn’t have access to the stories of people like myself until I was well into adulthood, and this kind of inclusion is so important to have in classrooms.”
Pride Reading day was a day in which we shared beautiful books celebrating the LGBTQ community and having powerful conversations around love, inclusion, and the importance of diversity. These learning opportunities have led to our staff and guest readers also feeling seen, included, and a vital part of our community as a whole. To me, that is where real change happens.
