CV
Izzy displaying her self-portrait based of the work of Liberian-British artist, Lina Iris Viktor.
Princeton Day School
2018- present
Roles: Middle School Art Teacher, GSA Faculty advisor
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Linoleum block relief print of Ruth Bader Ginsberg by 5th grader, Sophia. Ruth Bader Ginsberg wrote us a letter back.
Olivia holding her award winning painting for the Fresh Artists ‘Palates To Palettes’ program I co-founded.
Wissahickon Charter School
2014-2017
Role: K-8 Art Teacher
Rebecca Benarroch, Principal of Fernhill Campus
gay-straight alliance facilitator
In 2020 at PDS, the GSA I facilitated grew out of “Little Women Book Club”. 8th grade students needed a space to talk about their frustrations about growing up amidst gender roles and the expectations that society places upon them. Heroine Jo March has long been coded as queer. When presented with the question, “Well if this book is a reflection of the author’s life, maybe there is an answer there as to why Jo would never marry Laurie.”
At our next meeting, a student asked to share a quote from Alcott that read: “I am more than half-persuaded that I am a man’s soul put by some freak of nature into a woman’s body … because I have fallen in love with so many pretty girls and never once the least bit with any man.” I asked, “How does that quote connect to ‘Little Women’ for you?” My student quickly replied, “Cause Jo isn’t straight! Of course she doesn’t want to marry Laurie! Jo is gay! Omg! I can’t believe I didn’t know! Wait….did we just read a book in school that was school sanctioned and pro-LGBTQ?” After shaking my head, something switched. The space wasn’t school, but a brave space.
In the winter of 2021, students requested brave spaces be created. ‘Little Women Book Club’ transformed and evolved into Princeton Day School’s school sanctioned GSA space.
GSA SPACES SAVE LIVES
The Trevor Project reports several troubling statistics. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) youths “are almost five times as likely to have attempted suicide” as heterosexual kids. By only providing GSAs at the high school level, school institution and school leadership are denying the safe space they would provide, and the positive impact they could have, for students prior to ninth grade.
The good news is that research shows that GSAs at the middle school level can benefit school climate and individual social and emotional health for all students. A GSA helps both LGBTQ and heterosexual tweens. Bullying, after all, occurs across all lines and a GSA is about building advocacy in all allies. A 2014 study found that “LGBTQ students are at higher risk for suicide, in part because they are more often targeted for bullying and discrimination, but heterosexual students can also be the target of homophobic bullying. When policies and supportive programs like GSAs are in place long enough to change the environment of the school, it’s better for students’ mental health, no matter what their orientation.”
Deva Leveillee
they/her
Homebase: Philadelphia
Favorite Books: “Little Women” and “Normal People”
Currently listening: Phoebe Bridgers “Stranger In The Alps”