Rainbow Clubs or Affinity Groups are Elementary school versions of Gender Sexuality Alliances (GSAs). The goal of a Rainbow Club is to unite students of all genders and encourage them to explore their identity and their world in safe, welcoming community spaces. According to a GLSEN study, “GSAs are related to greater physical safety for LGBT students. LGBT students who attend schools with a GSA are less likely than those at schools without a GSA to report feeling unsafe in school because of their sexual orientation (61% vs. 68%) or because of the way in which they express their gender (38% vs. 43%).” and “LGBT students in schools with a GSA have a greater sense of belonging to their school community than students without a GSA.”
Many of us will begin the year online, and transition our Rainbow Clubs online as well. We recently presented on this topic at the Gender Spectrum Professional Symposium. We discussed in-person Rainbow Clubs while also sharing special considerations for online groups. You can get access to the slides from our presentation here.
Check out our website’s page to learn more about Rainbow Clubs here. You’ll find the steps to start a club in your school, FAQ, success stories and tips for hosting online meetings. We've created our own flyer for online Rainbow Clubs. We've attached it here and hope you will use it this fall!