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A forum to discuss how Berkeley public schools can be more welcoming toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families in the community will be held at the Berkeley Technology Academy today (Tuesday). 

Coordinated by the Parent Outreach Office, the discussion aims to initiate a support network among LGBT families. 

“We also hope to talk about how to make our schools safer and more inclusive, how to work with the parent community and how to incorporate these issues into overall anti-bullying work,” said Lisa Warhuus, who works with the Parent Outreach Office. 

Warhuus added that that the forum was a follow-up initiative of a group of administrators who had recently attended a conference on supporting LGBT families in elementary schools. 

Judy Appel, director of Our Family Coalition in San Francisco, will be the discussion facilitator. 

BUSD spokesperson Mark Coplan said the event was part of the district’s goal to bring communities together.  

“We want to give the LGBT community the same opportunities as other families,” he said, and added that the forum would also bring up issues affecting LGBT students. 

The forum begins at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley Technology Academy, 2701 Martin Luther King Jr. Way.