BAE’s Award Winning LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Curriculum
For the 23-24 school year, BAE was selected as a recipient of the NYC City Council’s LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Curriculum Award. BAE was honored to be a part of the Department of Education’s (DOE) effort to support the needs of LGBTQIA+ youth and address the intersectionality of race, sexual orientation and gender identity through DOE’s general curriculum. While adhering local, state, and federal benchmarks and learning outcomes in dance, music, theater, and creative writing (the “what”), BAE’s curricula prioritizes the “how” and “who” of arts education: centering the needs of young people who have experienced marginalization due to their sexual or gender identities, and creating safe spaces to develop a sense of pride and purpose.
BAE is a queer-led organization, with many of our teaching artists and students identifying as LGBTQIA+. With the support of the NYC City Council, our team of educators was able to fearlessly guide our students through lessons and projects that were identity-affirming and empathy-building. Some examples of students’ work over the past year include a reading of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart, and full productions of Xanadu, Little Shop of Horrors, and Once On This Island. Students from across New York City came together for a culminating arts and family engagement event at the LGBT Center on April 25, introducing the space to students and families who otherwise may not have ever stepped foot inside the iconic community center. Queer- and ally-identifying attendees alike learned more about The Center’s important role in the history and present of the LGBTQIA+ equality movement, and all of the life-saving and life-affirming resources they’ve offered to New Yorkers since the 1980s.
Survey data showed young people were grateful for safe and queer-affirming spaces, led by queer teaching artists and administrators in their school communities and after school. They noted that working alongside queer adults on real world projects made them more reflective of their long term goals, more aware of their external supports, and more aware of how their actions make an impact on themselves and their environment. They reported an increased level of maturity and learning to take things seriously - “what I’m doing matters” - and demonstrated an increased awareness of their personal and professional assets, aspirations, and boundaries through oral presentations.
Over 100 young people and thousands of audience members were impacted and educated by the incredible work done by our teachers and students this past year, thanks to the City Council’s support! As more public education institutions across the country enact policies that limit the ability to study LGBTQIA+ history, celebrate their LGBTQIA+ students, or even say the word “gay” in school, we are encouraged to continue making educational spaces safer, prouder, and louder, and introducing more and more students and families to our LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Curriculum.
The cherry on top of this whole story, is that in July 2024, BAE was given the award for a second time to continue our work into the upcoming school year.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR LGBTQIA+ INCLUSIVE WORK IN 23-24
Everybody say gay! (We couldn’t resist attaching this video from our 2022 silent disco, headlined by the Youth Pride Chorus and Kinky Boots!)
