What does a truly inclusive school look like? To high school biology teacher Sam Long, it’s a place where students and staff are welcomed for who they are. He’s making that a reality for LGBTQ students and educators. 

In his first year of teaching, Sam came out to his school community as transgender. The decision put him in the minority: 85 percent of LGBTQ educators in Colorado are not out to their schools. (1) But, Sam says, “I felt this would be an important way to make connections, and that it was important to be vulnerable and show who I was when discussing the need for students to have courage and be vulnerable and to build a community.”

After coming out, Sam felt relieved and seen for who he is. He wants students to have that too. When students feel seen and known, they’re more open to making mistakes — and that’s where real learning begins.

“We don’t learn when we aren’t able to be ourselves, and we don’t reach our full potential in that sort of setting,” Sam says. He knows from personal experience. In high school and college, Sam wasn’t out as trans, and that had consequences. “I see that era of my life as sort of in black-and-white. There was so much less I was able to achieve and to be,” he says.

“I hope that my students, as they bring their whole selves into my classroom, feel a sense of color and brightness in what they do from day to day.”

To set an inclusive tone, Sam asks students what name they want to go by and the pronouns they want to use. He emphasizes to students that it’s important to get to know who people are. As a science teacher, Sam reminds students that, “Every scientist is a person who brings their whole identity into the inquiries that they plan, into their interests, and into the way they do science.”

Sam also wants his teaching to reflect a breadth of experiences. “Inclusive education,” for Sam as a life science teacher, “means teaching about living things in a way that embraces the diversity that we see in humans as well as other living things.” 

So, in 2019, Sam and two other trans educators started Gender-Inclusive Biology, a hub for teachers who want to learn more. The site has resources for kindergarten through undergraduate biology classes, and the group provides training for school districts and at conferences, and consults on new resources like textbooks.

The gender-inclusive framework makes room for more diversity. For example, not all students have a mom and a dad at home, Sam explains. A gender-inclusive approach teaches reproduction with more specific language that includes students with diverse families. It helps ensure all students see themselves in the curriculum. 

“This is a huge area of need,” he says. “A lot of students need to hear this as they’re growing up, and a lot of other staff want to understand how to update and adapt their lessons to validate and to acknowledge student identities.”

LGBTQ educators like Sam are an important part of school communities. He says: 

“We are a direct source of proof for LGBTQ students that it’s possible to have an adult with your identities or similar identities have a happy, successful life and be a part of a community. That visibility is valuable.” 

And in a diverse society, all students need to be literate and comfortable with diverse identities. It matters for students to see LGBTQ adults in their lives, even if they aren’t LGBTQ themselves. 

And while they shouldn’t be the only education resource for colleagues, LGBTQ teachers can educate and help fellow staff use the right names and pronouns for students.

Sam has seen the difference his presence makes: “I’ve had students who said, ‘You’re the first teacher I’ve ever had who has discussed LGBTQ relationships, and I think that that’s important.’ I’ve had students who either were trans and transitioning in my class, or later came out as trans who acknowledged me and thanked me for my visibility.”

He adds, 

“Sometimes just being there, just your presence shows students it’s okay to be like this and this is an option for you. If it’s what best fits how you feel, then it’s okay to be trans.”

To other educators who want to create more inclusive schools, Sam says, “Be upfront with students that this is what you want to do. You want to know them, you want to acknowledge them and call them what they want to be called. You want to continue learning, that it’s not just a first day of school thing.”

Beyond the classroom, Sam says school staff can consider shifting away from gendered traditions around school spirit days, prom and certain roles in school plays. He encourages administrators not to rely on LGBTQ staff to teach colleagues, and to ask about LGBTQ identities and experiences in student and employee surveys. 

Ultimately, Sam wants everyone — students and staff alike — to be able to bring their whole selves to school. That’s how everyone lives their full potential. 

1. “2023 Colorado State of Education Report.” Colorado Education Association. https://coloradoea.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/CEA_SOE_2023.pdf