[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-591567-105":59,"doc-detail-591567-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","gay-straight-alliances-promoting-student-resilience-and-safer-school-climates","Gay-Straight Alliances - Promoting Student Resilience and Safer School Climates","","Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) are school-based extracurricular groups designed to support LGBTQ students and their peer allies while improving the broader school climate. The article outlines how GSAs operate, traces the evolution of their aims from earlier LGBTQ-support settings, and explains key functions such as providing safe, structured spaces, fostering peer connection, building self-confidence, and enabling leadership with adult guidance. It also describes advocacy-oriented activities and how GSAs can partner with other school efforts to improve social and academic experiences.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/gay-straight-alliances-promoting-student-resilience-and-safer-school-climates/591567/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/gay-straight-alliances-promoting-student-resilience-and-safer-school-climates/591567.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"supergirl","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-16","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":8},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What are Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) and what do they do?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"GSAs are school-based extracurricular groups where LGBTQ students and peer allies receive support, learn about LGBTQ issues, socialize, and advocate for equity and justice in schools.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How did GSAs originate and how have their roles changed over time?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"GSAs began as expansions of out-of-school LGBTQ-support settings in the 1990s, typically led by school counselors or teachers. Over time, their aims expanded and many are now youth-led with adult advisors in supportive roles.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Why is support for LGBTQ students considered a core function of GSAs?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Much discrimination affecting LGBTQ youth occurs in schools, GSAs may be among the few school-based settings that explicitly support LGBTQ students, and students may have limited access to affirming settings outside school.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},591567,1792113103,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":8,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":29,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144},962088121634,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","Gay-Straight Alliances  \nPromoting Student Resilience and Safer School Climates  \nILLUSTRAT IONS BY PAUL GARLAND  \nBy V. Paul Poteat  \nM  \nany students participate in a wide range of schoolor community-based extracurricular programs. Although there is strong evidence such programs promote healthy development (e.g., 4-H, Big Broth-  \ners Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Club),1 programs that specifically serve sexual and gender minority students (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning [LGBTQ] students), and that address pressing issues affecting these students, have received far less attention than other programs. Yet LGBTQ students face enduring concerns at school.2 Because of the potential for school-based extracurricular groups to shape school climate,  \nV. Paul Poteat is an associate professor in the department of counseling, developmental, and educational psychology at Boston College. He has written widely on the topics of homophobic and bias-based bullying, mental health and resilience of LGBTQ youth, peer group social networks, and homophobic attitudes and behaviors.  \naddress inequality, and affect student performance,3 there have been calls to identify programs and settings that may reduce discrimination against LGBTQ students, promote their well-being, and foster safe and affirming school environments.  \nGay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) show promise for accomplishing these goals. GSAs are school-based extracurricular groups that provide a setting for LGBTQ students and their peer allies to receive support, socialize with one another, learn about LGBTQ issues, and advocate for equity and justice in schools.4 As a result, GSAs aim not only to support their immediate members but also to improve the experiences of students within the whole school.5  \nAs GSAs become increasingly present in middle and high schools across the United States,6 it is important to understand how they can be most effective. This article begins with an overview of GSAs andhow they operate. Next, it reviews findings that show GSAs are tied to positive student outcomes, highlights some of the ways GSAs promote well-being, and offers suggestions for how they can benefit youth from many different backgrounds. It  \n10 AMERICAN EDUCATOR | WINTER 2016–2017  \nthen describes the roles and experiences of GSA advisors, as well as how they can support GSA members. The article concludes by noting how GSAs can partner with other school-based efforts to promote the well-being of LGBTQ students and contribute to better social and academic experiences for all students.  \nThe Purpose of GSAs  \nGSAs and similar predecessor groups originated as extensions of out-of-school settings for LGBTQ youth beginning in the 1990s.7 This expansion was based on the recognition that LGBTQ students needed explicitly safe and supportive settings in their schools. Generally, they were started and led by school counselors or teachers and operated largely as groups in which LGBTQ students could receive social and emotional support.  \nSince that time, the aims and functions of GSAs have expanded and evolved to meet a growing range of student needs and interests. Now many of these alliances are typically youth-led, while adult advisors serve in a supportive role. Also, their efforts aim to benefit not only immediate members but also the larger school community.  \nProviding support for LGBTQ students continues to be one of GSAs’ core functions. (To learn how a GSA supports students in one San Francisco high school, see pages 15 and 20.) This function remains crucial for several reasons: (a) much of the discrimination that LGBTQ youth experience occurs within schools,8 (b) GSAs maybe one of the few school settings that explicitly support LGBTQ students, and (c) students may have limited access to LGBTQ-affirming settings outside of school, especially in communities where such settings do not exist at all.9  \nAs with many extracurricular programs, GSAs enable students to so","cbCaivNNw6nJxpZZ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivNNw6nJxpZZ","pdf",176927,"English","# The Promise of Gay-Straight Alliances\n## Why GSAs Are Needed in Schools\n## The Purpose and Evolution of GSAs\n## Core Functions and Program Models","[{\"question\":\"What are Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) and what do they do?\",\"answer\":\"GSAs are school-based extracurricular groups where LGBTQ students and peer allies receive support, learn about LGBTQ issues, socialize, and advocate for equity and justice in schools.\"},{\"question\":\"How did GSAs originate and how have their roles changed over time?\",\"answer\":\"GSAs began as expansions of out-of-school LGBTQ-support settings in the 1990s, typically led by school counselors or teachers. Over time, their aims expanded and many are now youth-led with adult advisors in supportive roles.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is support for LGBTQ students considered a core function of GSAs?\",\"answer\":\"Much discrimination affecting LGBTQ youth occurs in schools, GSAs may be among the few school-based settings that explicitly support LGBTQ students, and students may have limited access to affirming settings outside school.\"}]","Gay-Straight Alliances - Promoting Student Resilience and Safer School Climates | PDF",1792072741,15]