Trans woman who dropped out of all-boys school returns as LGBT advisor
A former student at an all-boys school in Philadelphia is now providing LGBT+ training there for teachers.
Hazel Edwards dropped out of Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia Charter School in 2015, just four months before she was set to graduate.
Edwards explained to Philly.com that she was not kicked out of her school, but that she felt pushed out by staff members, including one teacher who told her that she was a boy.
“I packed up my stuff and never went back to that school as a student,” Edwards said.
Trans woman Hazel Edwards left all-boys school before graduation
However, later in 2015, Edwards returned to the school as an educator with LGBT+ organisation Attic Youth Center to provide teachers with training on best practices for educating LGBT+ children.
“I got so much good feedback from former teachers, and the principal came up to me, started crying, and said, ‘The student is now the teacher.’”
—Hazel Edwards
Edwards, who still provides training at Boys’ Latin, told Philly.com: “That was the first time that I walked into that school as Hazel.
“I got so much good feedback from former teachers, and the principal came up to me, started crying, and said, ‘The student is now the teacher.’”
Hazel Edwards now provides LGBT+ training for teachers at her old boys school. (Hazel Gotti Edwards/Facebook)
Trans woman is “invaluable” at her former all-boys school, says CEO
Meanwhile, Noah Tennant, CEO of the school, told Philly.com that Edwards has positively impacted Boys Latin school through her work.
“It really added a whole extra layer of relevance for us that Hazel walked our corridors and classrooms,” said Tennant.
“The firsthand knowledge she had was invaluable to us as we thought about how we can grow.”
“The firsthand knowledge she had was invaluable to us as we thought about how we can grow.”
—Noah Tennant, CEO of Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia Charter School
PinkNews has previously reported on a number of cases involving trans students being discriminated against while at school.
In February, trans actress Josie Totah has said she was asked to leave school because she “didn’t fit in.”
And, in December, it was reported that a trans pupil at a high school in West Virginia was bullied by his principal.
