- Read more and sign up to attend.
- All Middle School and High School LGBTQIA+ and Ally Students are Welcome
- Experience workshops for fellow youth
- Meet students through Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties
- Adult/parent workshops
Queer, Trans, Allied Virtual Summit – Oct. 10 – Central Coast
Covid Summer Youth Resources

Where are queer youth hanging out this summer? Are you stuck inside for the summer? Feeling overwhelmed? Check out the “2020 Summer Youth Covid Resources“.
Call for Workshops & T-shirt Design — Queer, Trans & Allied Student Virtual Summit of the Central Coast — Fall 2020
The Queer Youth Task Force of Santa Cruz County, the Safe Schools Project, & the LGBT Collaborative of Monterey County are proud to present a supportive space for LGBTQIA+ and allied youth in Monterey, San Benito, & Santa Cruz Counties.
Self-care and Sustainable Activism
Saturday, October 10, 2020
12:00 – 3:15 pm
A Live Stream Event

Call for Workshops!
Call for T-shirt Design Submissions!
Register Now!
For questions, contact:
- Monterey County: Jacob Agamao / he/she/they / LGBTQ+ Services Coordinator, Our Gente, The Epicenter, Salinas / email or (831) 272-4295
- Santa Cruz County: Trisha Herrera / she/her/hers / Co-coordinator, Queer, Trans, & Allied Student Summit of the Central Coast / email or (831) 427-4004
Queer, Trans & Allied Student Virtual Summit of the Central Coast — Fall 2020
LGBTQIA+ Graduation Ceremony 2020

The Safe Schools Project of Santa Cruz County is proud to announce the 1st Annual Celebration of LGBTQIA+ High School, Junior High, and Middle School Graduates via live streaming.
June 7, 2020
2:00 pm

The graduation celebration is planned as a celebration to honor lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual (LGBTQIA+) and ally students, and to acknowledge their achievements and contributions to their campuses across Santa Cruz County. We honor our LGBTQIA+ and ally graduates who are graduating, and acknowledge the unique struggles many have faced on their path to graduation.
Live Streaming at: LGBTQIA+ Graduation Celebration
Find us on Facebook
Register Today: Queer, Trans and Allied Summit – October 5, 2019
Join other Santa Cruz County youth and parents to attend the Spring 2019 Queer, Trans and Allied Summit
– Saturday, October 5, 2019, 9:30am – 2:00pm
– Watsonville High School (250 E Beach St, Watsonville, CA 95076)
– All middle and high school youth welcome
– Youth to youth workshops
– Meet other students across Santa Cruz County and beyond
– Parent/Guardian Registration (no cost) for the event – Espanol
Attend the Queer, Trans and Allied Student Summit on March 2
“Soaring Above and Beyond the Gender Binary” (More Info Here)
9:30 am – 2:00 pm
Lakeview Middle School, Watsonville
All High School & Middle School Students Welcome
- Meet students throughout the Santa Cruz County area — from Watsonville, Salinas to Scotts Valley — who are working to help create safer schools in their community!
- Breakfast, Snacks & Lunch Provided
- Experience workshops put on by fellow youth and community resources
- Meet LGBTIQ/Ally Community Leaders
- New in 2019 – Parent/Guardian Workshops in Partnership with Gender Spectrum!
- and more….
- Learn more about the Student Summit
- Learn more about the Parent/Guardian Summit
Grant for SC County School Administrators Received
It is our pleasure to announce that the Safe Schools Project of Santa Cruz County has been awarded a grant from the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County. The purpose of the grant is to develop and implement a Safe Schools Index (SSI) for county schools in Santa Cruz County to guide school administrators in providing sustainable policies, practices and strategies that will result in safer and more inclusive school climates for LGBTQ students. We submitted this grant after hearing about this need from many school administrators across the county and we want to create a useable instrument in partnership with elementary, middle and high schools.
The first phase of the grant (Jan-March) is developing the instrument (currently we are calling this a “Safe Schools Index”) with a committee of administrators and convening small focus groups of administrators about the instrument. The second phase of the grant (March-May) is field-testing the instrument.
We hope that all school districts and administrators will participate by convening a focus group and by identifying administrators to be part of the SSI development committee. Please email Rob Darrow of your interest (RobDarrow@Robdarrow.us) by December 19.
Here is the Letter Sent to County Superintendents via email on December 8.
Free Movie Viewing Oct. 8 – The Lavender Scare
The National Steinbeck Center, California Rural Legal Assistance, Salinas Valley Pride Celebrations and the Monterey County Office of Education are excited to present a FREE screening of The Lavender Scare movie (2017) on Monday, October 8th, 6PM, Salinas Maya Cinemas.
The Lavender Scare (2017) is a documentary focusing the U.S. government’s efforts to identify and fire gay and lesbian employees in the 1950’s.
This screening is part of the NEA Big Read focusing on Tobias Wolff’s memoir This Boy’s Life. The NEA Big Read Film Series is intended to give community members additional perspectives to the themes and topics covered in This Boy’s Life. The NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. For more information about the NEA Big Read, please contact eric@steinbeck.org
The screening is part of Salinas Valley Pride Celebrations’ week long activities leading up to the annual Salinas Valley Pride on Sunday, October 14. The screening is also part of California Rural Legal Assistance and the Monterey County Office of Education’s programming for LGBTQ History Month.
See lesson plans, videos and resources about the movie, The Lavender Scare.
Summer 2018 Course About LGBT History
Teachers and others who would like to learn about the LGBT History written in the California History Social Science Framework will benefit from this course. Taught by Dr. Rob Darrow, learn about important people and events in history as well as how to integrate LGBT history into your regular curriculum. The course, taught through CSU Monterey Bay, will be completely online with weekly online meetings during 4 months in June. Students should be able to devote at least 10 hours per week to this course. Course Info. Register by May 1 for 3 Units of credit.