This past week I had the privilege of attending the National Safe Schools Roundtable, a gathering of advocates from around the country, this year held in Washington, DC. The group is mostly made up of activists and professionals concerned with LGBTQ youth in schools, though there is growing participation by those, like myself, who are primarily concerned with LGBTQ parents and their children’s issues in schools. (Note: The children of LGBTQ parents can, of course, be LGBTQ, as well.)

More than 50 organizations were represented, from PFLAG chapters in Dayton, Ohio to national groups like my own. The Roundtable is in its second year, and aims (primarily) to further communication and collaboration between all those doing work to make schools safer, better place to learn.

I came away from three days of meeting, planning, caucusing, and (that’s right) compulsory yoga stretching encouraged by the work we’re doing and the work we’ve yet to start. I was especially impressed by the newly released documentary retrospective, It’s STILL Elementary, produced by GroundSpark and co-sponsored by my organization, Family Equality Council, and many others.

It’s Still Elementary looks back at the controversy surrounding It’s Elementary, the groundbreaking documentary from the mid 90s that showed us how truly easy it can be to talk about “gay issues” in schools. A lot has happened since It’s Elementary was released back in 1996.

It’s Elementary was directed by Debra Chasnoff and Helen Cohen. Chasnoff won the 1992 Best Documentary Short Subjects Academy Award for Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons and Our Environment . She was also at the time a new (lesbian) mom. Chasnoff, Cohen and others involved wanted to explore the issue of talking about homosexuality with younger children. In their own experiences, it had been just about as easy as explaining heterosexuality – or, as you might more accurately put it, why mommy loves daddy and daddy loves mommy. Rearrange some words there, and you’ve got just about the same approach to explaining homosexuality to kids.

Chasnoff and crew fought long and hard to get schools to agree to let their teachers “pilot” these discussions in the classroom and on film. After a number of years of championing their cause and compiling footage, they were ready to release. Initial reactions, in such “limited forums” as San Francisco and other major cities, were relatively positive. The film is moving, to say the least, and certain youngsters stuck out as particularly memorable.

In 1999, after three years of building support and community around the film, its creators thought it ready to hit the national stage. It’s Elementary ran on more than 100 public access stations around the country. In some communities, such as Boise, Idaho, the issue of whether to show It’s Elementary or not dominated headlines for weeks on end.

What’s so powerful about the documentary is how it deflates the radical right’s apocalyptic messaging around the existence of gays and lesbians. Not only are elementary-aged children aware that gays and lesbians exist, they’re curious about them. They see the hate and ridicule spewed in our media and entertainment cultures. They hear the slurs. They know that name-calling is bad, and are curious why this group of people is called out so much. The film does nothing to force or coerce these discussions in schools; it merely provides the space for them to exist.

Since its release in 1996, It’s Elementary has traveled far and wide, literally making an impact across the globe. In the same period of time, the number of gay-straight alliances supporting friendship and understanding between kids of all sexual orientations has grown from just a handful to well over 3,500 nationally. Many concerned individuals and organizations have contributed to this process, any number of which I spent the last few days with at the Roundtable in DC. But I believe It’s Elementary reminds us how important some products of our work really are. And if you haven’t seen It’s Elementary, I highly recommend that you do.

And remember, it’s a film the whole family should see.

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