A new Mass. high school is catering specifically to LGBTQ+ students. Here’s what to know.
“There are many schools across the country that are welcoming to the LGBTQIA community, but they don’t solely focus on the needs and the wants of the community,” said J.S. Bryant School co-founder Allison Druin.
By Abby Patkin
December 3, 2024
When the J.S. Bryant School opens its doors next fall, dozens of LGBTQ+ teens will find a safe haven among the private day school’s dual campuses in the foothills of the Berkshires.
But when co-founders Allison Druin and Ben Bederson first conceived of the school, they had just one child in mind: Their son, who is transgender.
“He was struggling, and so we were looking for a school that not only could support him in what he needed educationally, as well as with anxiety, but also would celebrate who he is in the LGBTQIA community,” Druin recalled. “And [we] couldn’t find it.”
They dreamed up a private therapeutic high school that would cater specifically to LGBTQ+ teens, not only meeting educational and wellness needs, but also celebrating students like their son.
“We were on a family journey to support him, and it turned into a professional mission, really,” explained Druin, who is also serving as head of school.
The J.S. Bryant School will open in 2025 at the site of the former Cummington Inn, with a separate farming campus located just a few minutes down the road for experiential learning. The school bills itself as the first private, nonprofit therapeutic high school in the country dedicated solely to the needs of LGBTQ+ high school students.
“There are many schools across the country that are welcoming to the LGBTQIA community, but they don’t solely focus on the needs and the wants of the community,” Druin explained. “And many of them don’t have any or many staff that are in the community, that can be role models for these kids.”
Both she and Bederson have backgrounds in education, per their biographies on the school’s website. Druin, who most recently served as vice provost of research and strategic partnerships at New York’s Pratt Institute, has co-founded three high schools.
“The idea [for the J.S. Bryant School] really took hold a few years ago,” she explained. “Even though we knew we weren’t going to be making a school for our kid, because our kid needed a school immediately, we made it in honor of our kid.”
The school is named for Julia Sands Bryant, whose father — the famed 19th century poet William Cullen Bryant — was born near Cummington and had a homestead there. Druin said the school can accept 38 students, with class sizes hovering around seven to eight students per classroom.
They’ve received approval from the Central Berkshire Regional School District to operate as a private school, and they’re seeking state accreditation as a therapeutic school. According to Druin, they intend to serve “any student who would benefit from a gender-affirming, LGBTQIA-supportive therapeutic environment.”
“Many of these kids that we talk to feel isolated,” she added. “Not just even bullied, but just isolated — that they don’t have people that understand them, and they want to be a part of a place where everybody’s exploring their authentic self.”
Druin described a daily schedule that will allow students to engage with their surroundings through place- and project-based learning, complete with wellness clubs and therapy sessions tailored to the individual needs of each student and their family. The J.S. Bryant School will run on a 12-month curriculum, with two-week breaks about every eight weeks, Druin explained.
It’s not lost on her that the school’s opening comes during a period of political turbulence for gay and trans youth. For example, 118,300 trans youth between the ages of 13 and 17 were living in states that have passed bans on gender-affirming care as of August, according to LGBTQ+ advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign. President-elect Donald Trump’s anti-trans rhetoric has sparked concerns even in Massachusetts, which offers relatively strong protections for its LGBTQ+ residents.
“What we hope is that we can help people understand that it’s not OK to have anybody bullied, or traumatized, or feeling harassed just because of who they want to be, or who they want to love,” Druin said.
She noted the J.S. Bryant School has heard from several families who live out of state but are considering relocating to better support their kids.
“We’re living in troubling times, and it’s been a long history of troubling times,” Druin said. “And so if we can be a part of what helps people feel that they can be a part of a community, all the better.”