J.S. Bryant School

The J.S. Bryant School, a therapeutic day school for LGBTQIA+ high school students.

LGBTQIA+ high school students, approximately 14-19 years old.

Led by Dr. Allison Druin. Co-design sessions were held across Massachusetts, Tennessee, California and more.

The school opened in 2025 with many of the co-design ideas implemented. Current students in the school continue to co-design the school’s structure, curriculum, and wellness programs. 

Drs. Allison Druin and Ben Bederson saw the need for a therapeutic school to support the needs of LGBTQIA+ high school students. With a team, they began preparation for and development of the J.S. Bryant School to fill this need.

Before opening the school, co-design sessions were held over a year to explore how the school could support the needs of LGBTQIA+ teenagers during their high school experience, and what would enable them to feel and be safe and supported. Design questions posed to the groups included, “Where do you feel your most authentic self?” and “What could the high school of the future be where queer students can be their most authentic selves?”

Representatives from the J.S. Bryant School traveled to camps in Massachusetts, Tennessee, and California and worked with over 180 teenagers in co-design sessions. Sessions employed the low-tech prototyping Bags of Stuff technique. This co-design process continues today with the current student enrolled at the school, who co-design with staff everything from wellness clubs to new daily schedules, from painting on the walls to a new compost toilet enclosure.

Resulting in part from the co-design sessions, the J.S. Bryant school includes outdoor, integrative, and project-based learning. It also incorporates robust and flexible wellness programs. Learners are given agency and autonomy. These ideas have been supported by past and on-going co-design sessions. Co-design with LGBTQIA+ youth will continue to shape the vision, experiences and spaces of the J.S. Bryant School in years to come.