What bullied child or parent of a bullied child has not longed for a school where the quirky kid is safely welcomed instead of shunned, his or her unique talents encouraged instead of rejected?
Such a place — The Alliance School in Milwaukee — not only exists but won top honors as Wisconsin Charter School of the Year at an awards ceremony Oct. 21 at the Discovery Center in Milwaukee.
The Alliance School is a publicly funded charter school in downtown Milwaukee. It provides a safe haven for 165 students, in sixth through 12th grade, about half of whom identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
The majority of students at Alliance say they have suffered from bullying at previous schools, many of them taunted with homophobic slurs whether they are gay or not.