History

The history of the GSA Network starts, of all places, with a pandemic. The creation of the TDSB's Virtual Secondary School (VSS) in the fall of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic brought together thousands of students and hundreds of staff from across the board into an emergency educational experiment. Students and staff spent the first weeks adapting to the new method of teaching and learning, but by October, many realized that they were missing the extracurricular opportunities which are such a vital part of schooling. Many 2SLGBTQ+ staff and their allies realized that there was a need for a Gender and Sexuality Alliance. Following some initial planning meetings in October, the Virtual Secondary School Gender and Sexuality Alliance (VSS GSA) launched on November 27th, 2020 via a YouTube stream with over 400 views.

Over the course of this year, the 30+ staff advisors of the VSS GSA worked with hundreds of students. Some have been staff advisors to the interest/identity based groups within the GSA including the following groups: activism/events, arts, book club, disability, faith, fem, gaming, questioning, sports/wellness, students of colour, and trans/non-binary/genderqueer. Events were also held for the entire GSA including Winter Warm-Up, Welcome Back, Black Queer and Trans History with LeRoi Newbold and Twysted Miyake-Mugler, Awareness from 2 Souls: Indigenous 2-Spirit Perspectives on Gender and Sexuality presented by Mike Izzo, Cissexism in the TDSB: Students Making Change, and Pride Month!

But what is the connection to the TDSB GSA Network? About halfway through the year, staff began to consider how the opportunities offered by the VSS GSA could continue beyond the existence of the Virtual Secondary School and how they could be expanded to serve students across the entire board. Staff from the VSS GSA met, engaged in outreach to secondary GSAs across the board, and on June 1st, 2021, held a launch for the TDSB GSA Network. Staff advisors from across the board attended, made connections with each other, and the GSA Network was born.

Founding Staff Advisors:

Peter Aspery

Teresa Avarino

Julie Beattie

Kelly Beaulieu

Pia Berger

Kenny Boothby

Arthur Burrows

Adam Christensen

Jenn Covent

Kevin Doe

Robert Durocher

Priya Gill

Kien-Peng Lim

Grace Liu

Avi Magidsohn

Vanessa Michela

Kathleen Pyper

Rebecca Roach

Ivanka Slywynska

Kim Snider

Christoper Taylor

Laura Trenton

Tin-Gee Wong