ALEPH MELBOURNE
MEDIA RELEASE
JULY 22 2016
Aleph Melbourne welcomes the “Inclusivity Statement”[1] issued to parents by Mount Scopus Memorial College on June 20 2016.
This statement is the first public acknowledgement by the school for the need to offer specific support to same-sex attracted and gender diverse students, as well as students from rainbow families.
Whilst the school has not yet adopted a comprehensive program such as that offered by the Safe Schools Coalition Australia[2] (SSCA), this is an important first step, as it offers a foundation for the school to build on.
Increasingly, the Australian school landscape is understanding that the era of marginalising same-sex attracted, intersex, and gender diverse students is over and is seeking better ways to include and value the diversity of these students.
Strong leadership has already been demonstrated in the Victorian Jewish school community, with The King David School, Sholem Aleichem College and Bialik College being long-standing members of SSCA.
As Mount Scopus finds its feet in supporting their previously neglected students, it will discover a fantastic surge in performance from those students it enables to be authentic to themselves. The more support these students receive, whether at school, at home or in the community, the more they will thrive.
Aleph Melbourne looks forward to further initiatives from Mount Scopus Memorial College that actively demonstrate support for their LGBTIQ students and wishes the school a hearty congratulations for taking this first brave step.
Media contact: Michael Barnett – 0417-595-541
[1] http://aleph.org.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2016_07_20_-_Mount_Scopus_Inclusivity_Statement_Letter.pdf[2] http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org.au