The doors will soon open at PROUD Academy in Ansonia. The LGBTQ+ middle school will operate out of The Boys and Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley.
“It gives us a start, it is turn key, ready to go,” PROUD Academy Founder Patty Nicolari said.
Nicolari has about 40 years of teaching under her belt. When she first became an educator in the 1980s, she faced hardships because of her sexuality.
“I was in a relationship with a woman, and I wasn’t telling anybody but the students were suspecting I was gay, so I was harassed,” Nicolari said. “So, it got me thinking, it’s uncomfortable for me as a teacher, I can’t imagine what it’s like for a student.”