Aleph welcomes Bialik joining SSCV

March 3, 2013 by J-Wire Staff
Read on for article

Aleph Melbourne congratulates Bialik College on joining Safe Schools Coalition Victoria today.

Michael Barnett

Michael Barnett

Bialik College is now the third Jewish day school in Victoria to join SSCV, following in the footsteps of long-standing member King David School and the more recent addition of Sholem Aleichem College.

Aleph Melbourne co-convenor Michael Barnett said “Bialik College has shown true leadership in joining Safe Schools Coalition Victoria today.  It is a sign of commitment and maturity by the school that it places the welfare of its students foremost.  As a former student of Bialik College who struggled deeply with my sexuality during my high school years, I am confident my academic and social experience would have benefited by this type of initiative.”

Aleph Melbourne calls on all remaining Jewish day and after-hours schools to follow the leadership set by King David School, Bialik College and Sholem Aleichem College and similarly join SSCV.  The health and well-being of the community’s children must not be sacrificed, especially during some of the most critical years of their lives.

Suicide and self-harm have been demonstrated to be a serious problem amongst same-sex attracted youth when they are not accepted and affirmed unconditionally, with elevated level of risk to the norm.  The sooner all schools mitigate this risk by adopting “best practices” in regards to acceptance of diversity in sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status the better off the community will be.

Comments

One Response to “Aleph welcomes Bialik joining SSCV”
  1. Thank you for covering this significant event in the Australian Jewish community.

Speak Your Mind

Comments received without a full name will not be considered
Email addresses are NEVER published! All comments are moderated. J-Wire will publish considered comments by people who provide a real name and email address. Comments that are abusive, rude, defamatory or which contain offensive language will not be published

Got something to say about this?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.