Gender Neutral Bathrooms & Back-to-School Night

Gender Identity

It is our goal, our mission, and our obligation to make CCHS a welcoming environment for all students.  We want all students to feel welcomed and respected as part of our educational community.  

If you spend any time on the third or fourth floors, you may notice two gender neutral bathrooms.  We assigned one bathroom on both the third and fourth floors as gender neutral facilities.  With three gender specific and one gender neutral bathrooms on both the third and fourth floors, this change provides choices for all students.

For those not aware of changes in the law, I wanted to share guidance provided by the state. Guidance for Massachusetts Public Schools Creating a Safe and Supportive School Environment Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity provides detailed information pertaining to locker rooms, sports teams, privacy, confidentiality along with other pertinent information relative to this delicate issue. I have included the language regarding bathroom facilities, locker rooms, and changing facilities below for your review.  

Restrooms, Locker Rooms, and Changing Facilities 

All students are entitled to have access to restrooms, locker rooms and changing facilities that are sanitary, safe, and adequate, so they can comfortably and fully engage in their school program and activities. In meeting with the transgender student (and parent) to discuss the issues set forth in this memorandum, it is essential that the principal and student address the student’s access to the restrooms, locker room and changing facility. Each situation needs to be reviewed and addressed based on the particular circumstances of the student and the school facilities. In all cases, the principal should be clear with the student (and parent) that the student may access the restroom, locker room, and changing facility that corresponds to the student’s gender identity. While some transgender students will want that arrangement, others will not be comfortable with it. Transgender students who are uncomfortable using a sex-segregated restroom should be provided with a safe and adequate alternative, such as a single “unisex” restroom or the nurse’s restroom. Similarly, some transgender students may not be comfortable undressing in the changing facilities that correspond to the student’s gender identity. 

The Department strongly recommends that districts include an appropriate number of gender neutral restrooms commensurate with the size of the school, and at least one gender-neutral changing facility, into the design of new schools and school renovations. School staff as well as students and their families may find the use of restrooms and changing facilities to be among the more challenging issues presented by the gender identity law, perhaps due to issues of personal privacy. As emphasized in other sections of this guidance, these issues should be resolved on a case-by-case basis, through dialogue with students and parents, and through leadership in creating safe and supportive learning environments. 

Back-to-School Night

All parents are invited to attend our annual Back-to-School Night on Thursday, September 15, 2016. The program will begin in the auditorium at 7:00 pm. Please be advised, there is a limited supply of parking and we recommend carpooling if possible. Please park in the lower lot outside the school's dining commons.

Freshmen parents are invited to attend a program with guidance staff and school leaders at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Auditorium. Parents will have the opportunity to ask questions and to learn more about the life of the school.

Following a short opening assembly at 7:00 p.m., you will travel through a typical, albeit abbreviated, school day (all eight blocks, A through H).  Please click here for the evening’s schedule.  From A-Block on, during an eight-minute period, you will meet classroom teachers and receive a general overview of what students will be learning during the school year. Teachers look forward to more personalized conversations during Parent Conferences on Thursday, November 10, 2016 or sooner by request.

During lunch blocks, directed studies or open blocks, you will have “Open Campus” (free time) to tour the building, visit the Learning Commons (library), the Art Gallery or student radio station, WIQH.

Brian Miller, Colleen Meaney, and I, as well as guidance counselors will be out and about in the building. In addition, you will be able to meet folks from various school related organizations including the Parents Association.

Your son or daughter will fill out the schedule for you on Wednesday, September 14th during Advisory. Please arrive with the schedule in hand. If you do not have a copy of the schedule, please retrieve one in the Aspen Parent Portal. If necessary, we can print one in the main office; just make sure to leave extra time to allow for this.

We have included a map in an effort to help you maneuver around this magnificent building. To help assist you, student guides will be located at various locations throughout the building.