School ‘Safe Zone’ program continues despite criticism from some Clovis parents

Pride Flags. Rainbow stickers. “All Are Welcome” posters. “Hate Won’t Win” flyers.

Those are just some of the ways many Clovis Unified teachers decorate their classrooms in a district-led effort to signal that school is a “safe zone” for all students.

Through CUSD’s Wellness Project, some teachers have received training and posted their Safe Zone certification in their classrooms to send the message to LGBTQ students that their classroom is a safe place.

However, a recent update to a CUSD policy limiting personal items in classrooms raised questions about whether the Safe Zone badges and rainbow stickers would still be allowed in Clovis schools.

The district’s Safe Zone badges received criticism online earlier this year from “Moms on the Ground Clovis Unified.”

“A lot of parents are not comfortable with our children being educated on such sensitive topics without being able to review content,” the group said in a social media post.

The training and Safe Zone materials, according to Clovis Unified School District, represent a way for staff to show they are there for all students, including those in the LGBTQ+ community.

“And the district would stand by that display,” district spokesperson Kelly Avants said via email.

But personal items not distributed by the district must remain in educators’ personal spaces out of plain view of students.

Some parents critical of CUSD communication on ‘sensitive topics’

Clovis Unified began offering Safe Zone certification more than a year ago to prepare educators for interactions with students “from historically disenfranchised groups such as the LGBTQ+ community,” Avants said.

Offered as a voluntary professional development opportunity, the employee training teaches educators how to be an ally or “advancer” for students in the LGBTQ+ community, said Clovis Unified teacher Kristin Heimerdinger said, who obtained her “Safe Zone” certification in May.

School psychologists conduct the training, and upon completion, employees receive a badge or placard with rainbow-striped colors and the words “Safe Zone Certified.”

“I want all students to feel valued and welcomed,” Heimerdinger said. “Anything that I can do to make me better at supporting them is incredibly valuable to me. If any student – not just my students – can know that they are welcomed, respected and loved for who they are, and that will make a difference for them, that’s the least I can do.”

In an Instagram post shared with The Bee’s Education Lab earlier this year, “Moms on the Ground Clovis Unified” acknowledged the safe place the badges are meant to create for students but expressed “disappointment” in not being informed that their children could be educated on “sensitive topics.”

The organization declined an interview with the Education Lab but said most parents feel schools need to teach education, not gender identity.

But that’s not the intention of the training, Avants said.

“The training is designed to help educators navigate how they interact with students and show care and compassion in those interactions,” she said.

Clovis Unified stands by Safe Zone program

The Clovis Unified school board added the “Display of Personal Items in the Workplace” clause to the Community Participation, Political Activities and Personal Items of Employees Policy in November and to the Controversial Issues Policy in late October.

Employees cannot display personal items reflecting “politics, religion, social movements and/or personal ethics” in plain view. Doing so is considered “district speech” and can be regulated.

Because the district didn’t communicate the policy changes about the “Display of Personal Items in the Workplace” section, according to Heimerdinger, employees didn’t know whether the Safe Zone badges or materials and the inclusive environment they promote are allowed.

Material provided by CUSD would, by definition, not be “personal” and would not be impacted by district policy or practice, Avants said.

In addition to the Safe Zone materials, many Clovis Unified staff display personal items like flags and flyers to foster a safe, welcoming space for students in the LGBTQ+ community.

“If an employee is using significant portions of their workspace/classroom to send such messages,” Avants said, “it would be expected – as it has always been – that such displays would remain in personal space and that the educational environment be focused on subject-specific material.”

‘It’s a sign for my kids’

Whether in front of a classroom teaching, in a hallway, or in the cafeteria, educators want their students to feel as though they belong.

In a National Education Policy Center study of nearly 700 public schools, 24% of principals reported students at their school made hostile and demeaning remarks about LGBTQ+ students multiple times in 2022 – a 9% increase since 2018.

A lack of acceptance from their peers, discrimination and family rejection are among the challenges associated with teens in the LGBTQ community becoming suicidal, leading to 29.4% of more than 1,200 high schoolers who identify as LGBTQ committing suicide in 2015, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.

Clovis Unified teacher Melissa Ferdinandsen said Safe Zone certificates, Pride flags, and rainbow hearts are “symbols of acceptance.”

“It means that I love and accept all my kids,” Ferdinandsen said about the symbols. “It’s a sign for my kids, knowing they can come talk to me and I’m an ally.”The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab at its website.