LGBTQ+ Charter Middle School To Open In Phoenix

A middle school for LGBTQ+ youth, described as life-saving for its future pupils, is set to open in Arizona. The Queer Blended Learning Center, a micro-school for up to a dozen students, will open its doors in Phoenix in August. Traditional classes such as math and reading will be taught alongside LGBTQ+ history and social studies. The school, which will be housed at the Phoenix headquarters of LGBTQ+ youth charity, one•n•ten, currently has six students enrolled and is looking to expand to accommodate 10 to 12 pupils. Leaders of the school program said it will be life-saving for queer children in the face of growing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the US – more than 570 such bills have been introduced in America so far this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Nate Rhoton, the chief executive of one•n•ten, told AZCentral that programs such as the Queer Blended Learning Center are "Absolutely necessary and life-saving for the young people we will reach." The school, which will deliver classes partly in-person and partly online, will be funded through Arizona’s school voucher program, which allows all school-age children in the state to receive public funding for private school tuition.