Walt Whitman Community School
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The Walt Whitman Community School (WWCS) was a private alternative school in Oak Lawn,
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
that catered to youth who identified as
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
.Fowler, Jimmy. "School's out." ''
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''. November 13, 1997. p
1

Archive
). Retrieved on September 22, 2014.
It opened in 1997 and closed in 2004. It was the United States's first LGBT-oriented private school,Walt Whitman Community School, Nation's First Private School For Gays, Opens in Dallas
" '' Jet''.
Johnson Publishing Company Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. (JPC) was an American publishing company founded in November 1942 by African-American businessman John H. Johnson. It was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. JPC was privately held and run by Johnson until his de ...
, September 22, 1997. Vol. 92, No. 18. . p
12
and by 2003 it remained the country's only LGBT-oriented private school not in Manhattan or Los Angeles. It was co-founded by Becky Thompson and Pamala Stone. The former is lesbian, while the latter is straight. The school was named after
Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...
.


History

The co-founders worked at the Walden Preparatory School in Addison.Fowler, Jimmy. "School's out." ''
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''. November 13, 1997. p
2

Archive
. Retrieved on September 22, 2014.
According to Thompson and Stone, anti-LGBT sentiments occurred at Walden. Whitman opened in 1997. Mary M. Clare and Steven E. James, the authors of the encyclopedia entry "Secondary Schools," wrote that it received media attention from around the world due to the "unique mission and its location in a southern city, considered nationally to represent conservative social values". When the school opened, its annual tuition was $7,000 ($ according to inflation) but financial assistance was given to all of the enrolled students. Financial assistance originated from the Walt Whitman Community School Foundation's fundraisers, including the GAYla prom, and other community and fundraising programs from the wider DFW LGBT community.Clare, Mary M. and Steven E. James. "Secondary Schools." In: Sears, James Thomas (editor). ''Youth, Education, and Sexualities: An International Encyclopedia, Volume 2'' (part of: Youth, Education, and Sexualities: An International Encyclopedia, James Thomas Sears, , 9780313327483).
Greenwood Publishing Group Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG) was an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which was part of ABC-Clio. Since 2021, ABC-Clio and its suite of imprints, including GPG, are collectively imprints of ...
, January 1, 2005. , 9780313327551. Start: p. 754. CITED: p
756757
The OutTakes film festival was one of the school's beneficiaries. When the school first opened, it was unaccredited. As of November 1997 it was still unaccredited. At the time it was attempting to get accredited by the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees ap ...
(SACS). The earliest the school would be accredited would be three years after its opening, but once accredited it would retroactively apply to the diplomas of all graduated students.Fowler, Jimmy. "School's out." ''
Dallas Observer ''Dallas Observer'' is a free digital and print publication based in Dallas, Texas. The ''Observer'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music, and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...
''. November 13, 1997. p
3

Archive
. Retrieved on September 22, 2014.
Towards the end of the school's life, financial support from other schools kept Whitman alive. Winfree Academy Charter Schools had offered its support to Whitman.Clare, Mary M. and Steven E. James. "Secondary Schools." In: Sears, James Thomas (editor). ''Youth, Education, and Sexualities: An International Encyclopedia, Volume 2'' (part of: Youth, Education, and Sexualities: An International Encyclopedia, James Thomas Sears, , 9780313327483).
Greenwood Publishing Group Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG) was an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which was part of ABC-Clio. Since 2021, ABC-Clio and its suite of imprints, including GPG, are collectively imprints of ...
, January 1, 2005. , 9780313327551. Start: p. 754. CITED: p
757
In 2003 the school's budget was under $150,000 ($ when adjusted for inflation). That year,
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
created the documentary episode ''School's Out: The Life of a Gay High School in Texas'', a part of the ''
True Life ''True Life'' is an American Television documentary, documentary television series that aired on MTV from March 31, 1998 to June 21, 2017. Each episode follows a particular topic, such as heroin addiction as in the first episode – "Fatal Dose". ...
'' series. The school hoped that it would increase attention focused on it.Fischer, Kent. "Struggling Walt Whitman hopes film brings students, funds." ''
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''. April 17, 2003. Retrieved on September 22, 2014.
The World of Wonder company had produced the film. It received a screening at the Lakewood Theater.Martin, Merritt. "This Week's Day-By-Day Picks." ''
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''. April 17, 2003. p
1

Archive
. Retrieved on September 22, 2014.
In 2004, prior to the beginning of the new
school year An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classes and do rel ...
, Winfree abruptly withdrew its support, causing Whitman to close.


Campus

When it opened, the school occupied space in the Cathedral of Hope, the Dallas
Metropolitan Community Church The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international LGBT-affirming Christian denominations, LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination. The ...
worship center in Oak Lawn, Dallas. The MCC did not charge rent. The school facility was the youth center, a five-room building; it had received renovations to serve as classroom space. By 2003, it had moved to rented space at the White Rock Community Church, located on Garland Road.


Student body

The school originally had nine students, two of whom were in the 12th grade (seniors). The student body included white and ethnic minority students. Of the original nine students, four identified as gay. Two students identified as straight and had lesbian mothers. Two additional students identified as bisexual. One identified as transgender.Clare, Mary M. and Steven E. James. "Secondary Schools." In: Sears, James Thomas (editor). ''Youth, Education, and Sexualities: An International Encyclopedia, Volume 2'' (part of: Youth, Education, and Sexualities: An International Encyclopedia, James Thomas Sears, , 9780313327483).
Greenwood Publishing Group Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG) was an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which was part of ABC-Clio. Since 2021, ABC-Clio and its suite of imprints, including GPG, are collectively imprints of ...
, January 1, 2005. , 9780313327551. Start: p. 754. CITED: p
756
The students had transferred from traditional public schools. The total number of students increased to 14 at the end of the 1997–1998 school year. The school had an enrollment goal of 30 students but never met this goal. Its enrollment had steadily increased during the first five years of its life. In 2003 it had 16 students.


See also

* LGBT culture in Dallas-Fort Worth * EAGLES Academy * Harvey Milk High School


References


Further reading

* Finch, Simon ('' Whatever Magazine'').
School’s Out: The Life of a Gay High School in Texas

Archive
. ''The WOW Report''. World of Wonder Productions. * Neff, Lisa. "Walt Whitman High Point: A Dallas School for Gay Students Was on Its Last Leg When MTV Taped the New Documentary School's out, but Now Everything Is Looking Up. (Behind the Headlines)" ''
The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...
''. April 15, 2003
Available


External links

* * * *
School's Out: The Life of a Gay High School in Texas
' (profile) at ''
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'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitman, Walt Community School High schools in Dallas Private schools in Dallas Educational institutions established in 1997 1997 establishments in Texas 2004 disestablishments in Texas Educational institutions disestablished in 2004 LGBTQ in Texas LGBTQ and education