Berkshire Foothills, Massachusetts
What is the J.S. Bryant School?
The first therapeutic gender-affirming high school for LGBTQ+ teens
The J.S. Bryant School, nestled on 300 beautiful acres in the foothills of the Berkshires, will serve LGBTQ+ teens suffering from anxiety and depression. This school will provide a learning community that is affirming and supportive of identity development. Through academic excellence that emphasizes creative exploration, farming entrepreneurship, and climate innovation, students will graduate ready for college or the future workforce.
A First of its Kind
Currently, there are no therapeutic day or boarding schools in the country that focus on this population of students with a full staff trained to specifically support and/or have lived-experiences in gender-affirming living and learning.
With Massachusetts and New York reporting the greatest numbers of teens that identify as LGBTQ+, the location of the school can serve a deep need. In addition, there are no residential high schools that combine the arts, farming entrepreneurship, and climate innovation to support learning excellence. J. S. Bryant students will have the opportunity each day to learn with an integrative curriculum of immersive full-day coursework that is project-based and hands-on, surrounded by farming, art studios, and a deep focus on sustainability and climate innovation. The school curriculum will meet the state and local education standards for high school graduation.
A special message from Dallas Ducar,
CEO of Transhealth, Northampton, MA
Building the School
The J. S. Bryant School is being established on a 300-acre historic farm next to the William Cullen Bryant Homestead, a National Historic Landmark. The historic farm was originally the home of one of the daughters of William Cullen Bryant. The property was purchased in November 2021 enabled by the school’s first private supporter. It is expected that the existing farmhouse will be renovated for administrative offices, meeting rooms, and wellness support areas. The dairy barns and storage areas will be renovated and/or replaced to become dorms, classrooms, art studios, & areas for raising/interacting with animals, orchards, and fruit/maple processing.
Over the last year, the founders have met with educators, clinicians, potential parents, and agricultural experts to establish various priorities and expectations for the school. Kuhn Riddle Architects from Amherst, MA has been engaged to develop the plans for the built environment of the campus. And the Berkshire Design Group, a landscape architecture firm in Northampton, MA has been engaged to support and transform the natural environment from a historical farm to a sustainable residential school with farming. To date, visioning drawings have been developed by both firms based on identified priorities.
Get Involved
We need your help to make this dream a reality. To build a new campus, resources are needed for design and construction. Please consider supporting the school today through our donation button below. Thank you.
J.S. Bryant is a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable origination.
Your donations are tax-deductable.
Berkshire Foothills, Massachusetts