JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A group of high school students at Episcopal School of Jacksonville — a private, faith-based campus — are calling for change after they say a number from the dance ensemble's upcoming recital that portrayed a lesbian couple dancing together was cut by higher-ups.
School administrators don't deny cutting the number but say it's because they didn't think it would be appropriate for middle school-aged and younger students in attendance.
After the students expressed concerns, administrators are allowing the dance ensemble to perform the original routine at a high school-only event. But students say that's still censorship and even homophobic. Facing pressure from the student body, the school has also updated its website to include new, inclusive language regarding the LGBTQ+ community.
Students and alumni say it's still not enough. Now an online campaign is driving Episcopal School of Jacksonville leadership to listen and adjust.
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Gay students and other members of the LGBTQ+ community at the school say they don't feel welcome by some straight peers and even some adults on campus. Alumni from the school who spoke with The Florida Times-Union said the concerns aren't new. Those issues bubbled up recently during rehearsals for the dance ensemble's upcoming recital.
School officials say lesbian couple isn't 'age appropriate' for lower-school students
The school hired a dance instructor from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts on a temporary contract to choreograph performance numbers, including a popular song he selected from the musical and subsequent movie, "The Prom," for the ensemble's upcoming recital.
"The Prom's" plot centers around a young, lesbian couple who want to attend prom together. As part of the choreography, two girls appear to be each other's date and eventually start holding hands.
But dance ensemble students involved said school administrators rejected the choreography in November, telling them a same-sex couple was inappropriate subject matter for elementary and middle school-aged children who may attend the public recital. The song ended up being cut entirely from the recital and swapped for "One Short Day" from the musical "Wicked."
The Times-Union isn't naming the students because of their age and their concern of retaliation. The dance instructor hired by the school confirmed what the students said about the number being cut and the administrations' reasoning but declined to talk for this story.
Students say the school's censorship of a same-sex couple is discrimination.
According to dance ensemble students who spoke with The Times-Union, faculty said young children may attend the dance recital — which is open to the general public — and that could lead to them asking questions about same-sex relationships.
A spokeswoman for the school confirmed in a statement that the school was opting for a more "age-appropriate approach."
Students say this is just an example of a bigger problem.
Students mobilize online
Within one week of the dance being cut, a student involved in the dance ensemble launched "Queer at ESJ," an Instagram page devoted to "to shining light on how the LGBTQIA+ community at the Episcopal School of Jacksonville is treated in order to raise awareness."
The page's organizer is a current Episcopal student who participated in follow-up meetings between dance ensemble students and school leadership about LGBTQ+ representation on campus. The student asked not to be named in this report since they are still a student and they are not publicly out.
Most of the Instagram posts allege negative experiences from students who said they encountered homophobic comments from peers and faculty. The posts discuss not feeling safe or accepted on campus and often feeling isolated.
Also, a handful of students gave examples of teachers openly joking with students about gay culture, rejecting homosexual lifestyles and looking the other way when students made homophobic comments.
This isn't the first example of Jacksonville high school students using Instagram as a place to air grievances. Last year Black students across numerous Duval County schools launched "Black At" Instagram pages to discuss incidents of racism and microaggressions experienced on campus. The first Black At page that appeared locally represented Episcopal students.
A spokeswoman for the school said in an emailed statement in response to questions from The Times-Union: "We strive for justice and understanding among all people and encourage all to respect the dignity of every human being."
The statement continued, "We welcome students and families of all beliefs and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. We work to act with compassion, love and integrity, as well as to name and challenge behaviors that promote exclusion, discrimination, and mistrust.”
There are students and faculty who are allies, too.
An Instagram post submitted by someone who says they graduated last year said a science class that discussed the science behind a person's sex versus gender identity was helpful and validating.
The organizer of the page also told The Times-Union that they've passed out Safe Space stickers to teachers who wanted them for their classrooms, which are used to show LGBTQ+ students that they are supported.
Episcopal faculty and dance ensemble students meet
After word began to spread about "The Prom" number being cut from the recital, dance ensemble students said they were invited to meet with school leaders to discuss their frustrations and demands through a series of discussions.
The students say Associate Head of School Keesy Goebertus and the Rev. Adam Greene emphasized that they didn't think same-sex couples are appropriate subject matter for young children, including the school's middle school students.
The school leaders declined to comment directly for this story, instead going through the school's spokeswoman.
"As a Christian, Episcopal school, ESJ is committed to teaching our students in a way that is age-appropriate with regard to adult language, sexuality and all other educational subject matters," Director of Marketing Meg Scheu Sacks said. "We assess whether opportunities involving one of our Four Pillars [Academics, Spiritual Life, Fine Arts, and Athletics] should be for all on our campuses [Lower School, which includes students age 1 through grade 6; Middle School for students grades 6 through 8; and Upper School, grades 9 through 12], or a particular age group only."
Students said they were told if they could find a separate time and place to perform the originally choreographed dance — only for high school students — that it could be performed in its original state.
Sacks confirmed the school would move the dance to an "Upper School event later this spring."
Still, students say that's not good enough. They believe middle school age is as good a time as any to provide LGBTQ+ representation and affirmation.
"The administration talked in circles and basically told us they found it inappropriate for the middle schoolers because it involves LGBTQIA," the student moderating the Queer at ESJ Instagram page told the Times-Union. "We found that to be extremely ignorant because — surprise — middle schoolers can be gay. At one point I asked if they would’ve allowed the piece if it was a straight couple, and they said yes."
Episcopal alumni Gaby Diaz and Anna Mayo — the artists behind Strange Times Studios, which organized a popular art show earlier this year — say the school's dance program has put on productions in the past that could be considered provocative or mature without censoring dances open to a young audience.
They said those included numbers from "Chicago," and "Into The Woods" and a performance that involved twerking to a remix of songs by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion earlier this year.
"We emphasize these inconsistent arguments not to claim that they shouldn’t have occurred, but rather that they should be able to coexist alongside a dance that ends with two girls holding hands," Diaz and Mayo said.
The two put together a widely circulated document that includes an email template encouraging community members to reach out to school leaders to change course as well as a list of mental health resources for those in need.
It's unclear how many people have reached out to school leaders in response to the document, but its content did prompt parents and at least one former Episcopal School of Jacksonville board member to reach out to the school's current board.
Episcopal updates website to include LGBTQ+ protections in anti-discrimination clause
Since the debate surrounding the performance and ensuing concerns raised by students, the school revised the anti-discrimination statement on the bottom of its website to be more inclusive.
Internet archives show the bottom of some of the website's pages used to read "Episcopal School of Jacksonville does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age..." but this month, the school replaced "sex" with the terms "gender" and "sexual orientation."
Diaz and Mayo say the update is a direct response to student and alumni demands which included adding LGBTQIA+ protections to the school's anti-discrimination policy, to open "The Prom" number to the general public and for the school to "clarify its definition of discrimination."
Sacks confirmed the website's update came in light of students bringing the statement to school leadership's attention.
"We are grateful students alerted us to a dated anti-discrimination statement on our website," Sacks said. "This was an oversight on our part and without hesitation we immediately updated it."
Both students and alumni call the update a "small victory," but emphasize that there's more work to be done.
"We appreciate the work these students do though it is largely draining and unrewarding," Diaz and Mayo wrote on their document. "For now we will celebrate the small milestones."
The alumni say they have yet to receive a response from their former school's leaders. They are planning to host a town hall for the Episcopal community, including students and alumni, about LGBTQIA+ education in mid-January.
If you're a student at Episcopal School of Jacksonville and want to discuss this story or LGBTQ+ conditions at the school, you can contact education and youth culture reporter Emily Bloch by emailing ebloch@jacksonville.com.
Emily Bloch is an education reporter for The Florida Times-Union. Follow her on Twitter or email her. Sign up for her newsletter.
