Ellsworth School Committee to Discuss Rainbow Crosswalks at Workshop July 28th

You may have seen rainbow crosswalks in Bangor and in other communities. The Ellsworth School Committee will discuss the installation of rainbow crosswalks at Ellsworth High School and the Ellsworth Elementary-Middle School at a workshop on Tuesday, July 28th.

The discussion comes after Carrie Kutny, a Spanish teacher at Ellsworth High School and advisor to the GSDA (Gender/Sexuality Diversity Alliance) at Ellsworth High School wrote a letter asking that the rainbow crosswalks be installed at the two schools.

The workshop will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28th, following an Executive Session, and may be watched on Zoom as well as on the Ellsworth High School Facebook Page and City of Ellsworth You Tube Page

According to the Facebook Group Rainbow Crosswalks for Ellsworth, the GSDA students conceived this idea as a way to celebrate Pride and to promote positive change. A rainbow signals to everyone that our community and schools are safe spaces for all. The students even procured a grant from Healthy Acadia, so that this project would cost Ellsworth taxpayers nothing

According to the 2019 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey, 13.6% of high school students in Maine identify as LGBT. The survey also indicates that LGBT kids are significantly more likely to endure bullying, violence, discrimination, lack of adult support, suicidal ideation, and higher rates of substance abuse than their heterosexual and cisgender peers.

According to the conversation on Facebook, this request is a natural follow-up of "Rachel's Challenge" which the School System embraced last year as a means of fighting bullying.

Citizens may participate by sending comments and questions to Ellsworth School Committee Vice Chair Paul Markosian at pmarkosian@ellsworthschools.org