A new therapeutic high school designed specifically for students who identify as homosexual or transgender is set to open in western Massachusetts next year.
J.S. Bryant School will serve 38 students and will open in the fall of 2025, it founders say. The school is to be located at the site of the former Cummington Inn, in the western Massachusetts town of Cummington.
The project is spearheaded by Allison Druin and her husband, Ben Bederson, who found inspiration in their son, Atlas Bederson, a transgender-identifying college student.
“Our own kid was struggling with anxiety and depression, and we were looking for good options for him with regard to education,” Druin said in a report. “We wanted a place that saw him for his whole self, and that included being part of the LGBTQ community.”
The J.S. Bryant School bills itself as the first of its kind in the nation, according to The Berkshire Eagle. The school plans to offer therapy, academic courses, and extracurricular activities, according to the report.
“The J.S. Bryant School aims to promote the physical, psychological, and socio-emotional wellness of each student,” the school’s web site says. “Integrated wellness education and support is provided throughout the school day. Students engage in club therapy (e.g., art or music therapy, outdoor exploration, animal-assisted therapy, etc.) three days a week. Individual therapy sessions (1-2 times/week) and family therapy (at least 1 time/month) will make use of a variety of methods, including CBT, DBT, and mindfulness development, and will take place both indoors and outside as weather permits. All staff are trained in supporting gender/sexual orientation-affirming care and/or have lived-experience in the LGBTQIA+ community.”
“CBT” stands for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which aims to change thinking patterns. “DBT” stands for Dialectical Behavior Therapy, which aims to help people manage emotions and relationships. “LGBTQIA+” stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (or Questioning), Intersex, Asexual, and additional categories.
The school’s web site makes no mention of the specific extracurricular activities it plans to offer, so it’s unclear if the school will have sports teams featuring transgender-identifying athletes.
Druin and Bederson bought the grounds of the former Cummington Inn for $769,000 earlier this year. They are having renovations done to the building to add accessibility upgrades, therapy rooms, classrooms, and recreational spaces. Additionally, the campus has 100 newly planted apple trees. The school building includes a music room and library ladder, while keeping much of the design of the old inn intact.
In addition, the school plans to use a nearby 300-acre farm on Upper Bryant Road for afternoon outdoor learning programs. Organizers of the school originally intended to use the farm for a new boarding school, but plans were adjusted to open the day school sooner. In the future, the school’s founders hope to build dormitories on some of this land.
The J.S. Bryant School’s curriculum will include interdisciplinary academic instruction with mental health support. The school aims to provide resources for those struggling with anxiety and depression, among other mental health problems.
The school’s founders expect that students will come from out of state to attend it.
A packet prepared for a school committee meeting February 15 noted that a high percentage of high school students who identify as homosexual or transgender “are struggling with anxiety and depression.” The school committee heard a presentation about the school during the February 15 meeting. A typical school day will include class during the morning followed by group therapy in the afternoon, according to the presentation.
Druin told the school committee that Hampshire College may become one of what she called “pipeline schools” for graduates of J.S. Bryant School.
J.S. Bryant School is currently seeking state accreditation as a therapeutic school. Under Massachusetts special education law, the school’s class sizes will be limited to eight students per class. The school’s web site says it is working to have public school districts cover the tuition and transportation costs of students attending the school; the tuition price has not yet been announced.
A spokesman for J.S. Bryant School could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday.
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