I really wish they had something like this when I was in high school:

from the Chicago Tribune:

Mary Schmich
October 10, 2008
There were no gay kids in my high school. Not a one. Every single one of us in our red-and-gray uniforms was as straight as a ruler's edge.

Years later, of course, we learned that wasn't true. Oh, so she was gay? And him too? I learned the fact about one girl after she committed suicide.

We've advanced hugely since the days when homosexuality was routinely a secret shame, but being gay still compounds the ordinary trauma of growing up.

Surveys show—and teachers know—that gay and lesbian students are often harassed in high school. Many feel unsafe in school. They're likelier than other students to drop out.

So now Chicago is poised to open its first high school for gay, lesbian and transgender students. The working name is Social Justice High School—Pride Campus. If the Board of Education approves it as expected, Chad Weiden, 29, will become principal.

Weiden is now assistant principal of Social Justice's Little Village campus. I talked to him on Thursday. Here's an edited transcript of our conversation.

QIs this a gay high school?

ANo.

QYou expect kids who aren't gay?

AWe do.

QWhy would a kid who's not gay come?

AIf it's a quality, high-class education, any kid would want to come. And we want to investigate what does it mean to be an ally when we work for social justice. That means having a wide variety of students.

QWhat does "ally" mean?

AAlly is someone who can relate to a different experience. Can sympathize. Then collaborate with someone who is different, for a greater good.

QWhat was your experience as a gay student like?

AMy experience began in middle school. I didn't even have to out myself. I was perceived as gay because of my hobbies, interests. I loved to read. I worked in the community theater. My peers would make fun of me. Teachers would ignore the abuse, the bullying. I was fearful to get on the bus in the morning. Oftentimes I ate lunch in the bathroom because that was the safest place to eat.

QI've heard people say, why segregate gay kids? Why not round up the bullies in their own school?

AWe want to be absolutely clear. It is not a gay high school. It is a college preparatory school. Students can choose to come.

QStudents won't be asked if they're gay?

ANot at all. It's illegal to ask students to identify themselves.

QHow would the Pride curriculum be different?

AWe are a regular public school. We'll take successful components of our curriculum—mathematics, English—and weave in the stories and struggles of gays and lesbians, as well as African-Americans and Latinos.

QWhat will be the school's racial makeup?

AThe racial makeup of Chicago's public schools. The majority will be African-American and Latino.

QLet's say I'm a student at the new school. What will I see on the walls and in the halls?

AYou will see the stories of our community leaders, gay and lesbian leaders. Here at Social Justice, you see hunger strikers on the wall, Harold Washington, Cesar Chavez. There will be similar pictures at Pride campus, but they'll include [such prominent gays as] Audre Lorde, Lorraine Hansberry, Harvey Milk. We'll be teaching these stories.

QStatistics say that gay and lesbian kids are more depressed than their peers. Does that feel true?

AKids feel a lack of belonging, and, because of that, feel deep sadness and confusion.

QHow might you be different if you'd gone to a school like Pride?

AI would have made progress a lot earlier. I would have had a model of what it meant to be a gay man, that a gay man could be in a committed relationship, a marriage, could have children. I didn't know that was possible. I also think I could have made significant changes on the high school.

mschmich@tribune.com