Pride flags to fly again outside all public schools

WATERLOO REGION — Rainbow flags will once again fly in front of all of Waterloo Region’s public schools to support Pride Month in June, as well as send a message to students and the broader community that it stands for inclusion.

“We really want to be an open and welcoming site for everybody,” said Peter Rubenschuh, a superintendent for the Waterloo Region District School Board.

“We’re trying to send an explicit message,” he said. “We are a collective.”

A ceremonial flag raising will be held on the first of the month at the education centre in Kitchener.

The board raised a Pride flag there after the Orlando nightclub shooting in June 2016.

Last year was the first it displayed them outside all its schools across the region during June.

Rubenschuh said there was a positive response from students, parents and the community.

“Our students really get this,” he said. “They recognize people for who they are.”

Feeling safe and a sense of belonging makes a difference in student well-being and achievement. The rainbow flag signals both.

“We really wanted to reach out and let people know when you’re at school it’s a safe space,” Rubenschuh said.

Last year, there was some concern expressed about the propriety of flying another flag with the Maple Leaf.

That prompted the board to reach out to Heritage Canada to talk about flag etiquette, and consult the federal government’s website.

“The flag protocol is a guideline,” Rubenschuh said.

The national flag should take the position of honour, he said.

Where schools only have one mast, it’s an acceptable workaround to fly the Canadian flag first with the Pride flag beneath it.