Hopefully you've already joined our Florida GSA Network, and are a member of our online community. If not, please consider joining. If you're signed up and ready to go, check out these ways of building membership, volunteering, and bringing our alliance together!
Create a GSA Club: 10 Steps to Start a GSA
Follow the Rules! Establish a GSA the same way you would any other group or club. Look in your Student Handbook for your school's rules regarding clubs. Some schools require students to go through a process for establishing a lub, this might include writing a constitution or showing student interest.
Find a Faculty Advisor! Find teachers or staff members who you think would be supportive or who have already shown themselves to be an ally around sexual orientation and gender identity issues. See your school rules for more information about who can be a club advisor.
Build Membership! Work with a diverse range of students who are interested in such a group. You may check with other existing clubs for students who might have an interest.
Tell Somebody! Inform administrators of what you are doing right away. It can be very helpful to have them on your side. They can work as liaisons to teachers, parents, community members and the school board. If an administrator opposes the GSA, provide them information about the Federal Equal Access Act (EAA) and contact us for support.
Find a Place! You may wish to find a meeting place within the school that offers some level of privacy, yet is still accessible.
Advertise! There are many ways to advertise. Think about how you've seen other clubs advertise. This could be any combination of using your school bulletin, announcements, flyers, or word-of-mouth. If your flyers are defaced or torn down, do not be discouraged. Plan to have people check on them throughout the day and replace if necessary. Eventually, whoever is tearing them down will give up, or be reprimanded by the school. Besides, advertising your group and having words up such as "gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender" or "end homophobia" can be part of educating the school, and can actually make other students feel safer even if they never attend a single meeting.
Plan a meeting! Of course you want to have a good meeting, so plan ahead of time. There are tons of things you can do, from discussions to inviting speakers, workshops to games.
Have a meeting! You may want to start with a discussion about why people feel the group is needed or important. You can also brainstorm what things your club could do this year.
Set up ground rules! Many groups have ground rules in order to ensure that group discussions are safe, confidential and respectful. Many groups have a ground rule that no assumptions or labels are used about a group member's sexual orientation.
Plan ahead! Develop an action plan. Brainstorm activities. Set goals for what you want to work towards. If you haven't already done so, contact us so that you may share ideas, resources and information.
Adapted from GLSEN