SUPPORT
ACTIVISM
SOCIAL
Transform your
school into a safe
and welcoming
environment free
of discrimination
and harassment.
Increase education
for staff, students,
and parents and
change school
policies to be
more accepting.
Student-Directed Club
GSAs and QSAs are student-lead clubs, your job
is to support this process
Ultimately, this is a space for your students and it
should be run by students. Some guiding principles
as an advisor, according to the GSA Networks
Handbook For Advisors, include:
Youth leadership: support the leaders of the GSA
and help students establish a leadership
organization that makes sense to them.
Leadership can take many forms, including
hierarchy-based leadership with a president, vice
president, treasurer, and secretary or collective
leadership with shared responsibility.
Youth empowerment: foster the skills and
confidence needed to run the club. Help facilitate
meetings and plan events.
Keep the future in mind: as a teachers you are a
constant in the GSA, help students make longterm plans, maintain an archive, and create
stability for future students.
Set appropriate boundaries: you cannot
guarantee the confidentiality of all conversations
because you are required to report certain
situations. Ensure your students are aware of this.
Navigate policies: help your students with the
rules and policies of your school.
Set up students to succeed: help your students
as best you can, but dont be afraid to let them
learn from small mistakes, transform them into
teachable moments!
Mission Statement
A Mission Statement is the grounding purpose of
your club.
What type of group is your GSA? What are your
goals for the school? A mission statement is a
chance to create an identity and focus for your GSA.
Here are some sample mission statements:
MORE RESOURCES
The Alberta Teachers Association has a page on their website devoted to GSAs that includes resources like
GSAs and QSAs in Alberta Schools: A Guide for Teachers and a sample student GSA proposal.
MyGSA.ca is a Canadian organization with lots of links and resources, including lesson plans, student stories,
and lists of great literature. You can register your GSA on this site and connect with others across Canada!
GSANetwork.com is a site dedicated to providing youth with resources to fight homophobia and transphobia
engagement. They have conducted studies and collaborated on many resources for teachers.