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Date: 8/29/2023
CUMMINGTON — A 300-acre former dairy farm will be the location of a new therapeutic gender-affirming LGBTQ+ high school in the fall of 2025.
The J.S. Bryant School will provide support for LGBTQ+ teens by enabling them to “proudly explore” their identity, according to longtime educator Allison Druin, who founded the school with her partner Ben Bederson, another lifelong educator.
In an interview with Reminder Publishing, Druin said the inspiration for the school came from a personal journey that turned into a professional one. Her family had moved to the Western Massachusetts area during the coronavirus pandemic and were looking for a therapeutic school that would support their teen’s journey as a LGBTQ+ student.
“We looked for a therapeutic school that would enable him to proudly explore his identity and yet really get supported in terms of wellness and truly be a school that could be welcoming and appreciative of a kid in the LGBTQ+ community,” Druin said.
But broad, countrywide research found that there were no schools focusing on the LGBTQ+ community for teens who are struggling with anxiety and depression. Eventually, Druin and Bederson landed on a Connecticut school for their child, and while they are appreciative of that school, they still felt there was a very large void for students in the LGBTQ+ community.
Druin and Bederson’s feelings were confirmed after embarking on professional research and talking to parents who went through similar struggles.
“They found us, they reached out to us and they would tell us the same stories: ‘Where can I go? What should I do?’” Druin said. “Obviously as the politics of many parts of the United States have changed, it’s made it even more important that there’s a place for kids and families to celebrate, to be proud and to learn.”
Druin and Bederson soon found the J.S. Bryant property, which was originally owned by poet William Cullen Bryant and his descendants. Druin said they wanted to name the school after Bryant’s youngest daughter, Julia Sands Bryant, who supported her father in business and took care of him until he died. She then spent the last 30 years of her life in Paris with her same-sex partner. The story of her journey is important to the inception of this school.
“We want this school to be a place where kids don’t have to leave their families to be who they want to be, to love who they want to love,” Druin said. “Massachusetts and particularly Western Massachusetts is a place to embrace families and kids in that way.”
According to Druin, the school will emphasize “land-based learning” and artistic expression while still being a place where students will have a high school curriculum that meets graduation requirements necessary for college or finding a career.
The school will combine arts, farming entrepreneurship, and climate innovation to create a space for students to embark on project-based and hands-on learning. The existing farmhouse will be renovated to include administrative offices, meeting rooms and wellness-supporting areas.
“It has a wonderful history of people being a part of the community as well as being leaders in the community for many different reasons,” Druin said, of the location.
According to Druin, the location will start as a day school, but the expectation is that it will also be a residential school that eventually accommodates students from all around the country.
“Kids around the country need this as much as kids right here in Western Mass.,” Druin said. “We’re hopeful that we can create a community for that.”
The ideal hope is to open the school’s doors by the fall of 2025 and Druin estimates that around 30 students between grades 9-12 will be enrolled to begin. Eventually, the school would like to accommodate up to 100 students.
Druin also added that this will be a 12-month school with trimesters that change based on the changes in season. Students will have short breaks every few months, but Druin said that a long three-month break is not beneficial for what the school is trying to accomplish as far as wellness goes.
In terms of staffing, the goal is to hire people who have professional and lived-in experience in the LGBTQ+ community.
“We’re looking for an inclusive and diverse staff that truly gets the mission and understands that when we teach science, it’s going to be on the land, it will be honoring LGBTQ+ elders that were part of the scientific community that made a difference that maybe aren’t usually talked about,” Druin said. “It’s going to be a curriculum that obviously satisfies the requirements of the state of Massachusetts but is going to be supportive and special for these kids. And we need people, professionals, both in wellness and in education and farming in the arts that are all understanding of this mission and really can do something very special.”
To prepare for the school’s opening, Druin and Bederson will continue to spearhead community and fundraising events to get the word out and learn about the families who are interested since Druin said the families are just as much a part of the journey as their children.
“When we bring kids to our community for the school, we are going to be bringing families as well because they are going to be part of the journey and the equation for learning and for wellness,” Druin said.
People can learn more about the school and upcoming events involving the school on the website: https://www.jsbryantschool.org/. The school is private but also a nonprofit organization.