Creating & Sustaining a Gay-Straight Alliance

Are you interested in supporting the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) at your school?

Are you interested in supporting the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) at your school?  Thank you!  GSAs provide opportunities for students to develop their leadership skills, and we believe that GSAs have a positive impact on school climate for all students.  And we’re not the only ones: In June of 2011, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released a Dear Colleague letter that not only affirmed that GSAs have a right to form in public schools, but also declared that they are beneficial.

You can read the Dear Colleague Letter here.

Here in Wisconsin, the Department of Public Instruction also supports the formation of GSAs.  In 2011, our former Manager of GSA Outreach Tim Michael and the principal of Indian Mound Middle School in McFarland were invited by DPI to film a webcast on how to support the formation of a GSA at your school.

You can watch the webcast here.

GSA Advisor Handbook

Have you been asked by students at your school to be the faculty advisor for a GSA?  Or perhaps you just think it’s time that your school had a club where students can talk about issues of sexual orientation and gender identity and work on projects to advocate for social change.  Either way, many GSA advisors step into that role with little or no training on what it will entail.  Knowing that, GSAFE was part of a national committee organized by the National Association of GSA Networks that wrote a handbook for GSA advisors.

Click here to download the Advisor-Handbook-2020 .

Resources for Middle School GSAs

As more and more middle school GSAs form in Wisconsin, we are recognizing the need for middle school-specific resources.  Check out for resources for support a GSA at your middle school.

If you have any questions or need support around starting or supporting the GSA at your school, call at (608)661-4141.