Lesbian Teen Encouraged to Leave Christian School

Master's was good for her. And she was good for Master's.

This was to be her senior year and a former coach says she would have been up for all kinds of awards. But last spring she went on a class trip where several students, Aviles among them, pretended to be married. They made "wifey" phone calls to one another. They held hands -- not unusual among same-sex friends at Master's, Aviles said.

"Looking back, it was kind of stupid," said Aviles, of Hartford. "But it was harmless."

Word got back to the administration, and the students were called in and questioned about their sexual orientation. When it was her turn, Aviles told administrators that she is a lesbian. Her friends knew. Teachers didn't.

Aviles said she was encouraged to withdraw, rather than be expelled. "It was a not thinly veiled threat," said Beth Miller, who met Aviles when the student applied to Hartford Youth Scholars Foundation in '07.

Legally, private schools -- secular and otherwise --- have more leeway as to whom to accept within their ranks. The school's meadmaster, Jon Holley, said he wouldn't discuss Aviles because of privacy concerns, but Aviles' former coach, Heather Lodovico, said when she withdrew, Aviles sent her coach a text message.

"She texted me and said something like 'They kicked me out,' and I made a joke, 'What, are you pregnant?' and she said, 'No, worse. I'm gay,'" said Lodovico.

The coach said she immediately got on the phone to see if the decision could be reversed, but no.

"She's a fantastic kid," said Lodovico. "My reaction was: 'Wow. Your God's really small.' Whether it's a sin or not, take that out of the picture, and this is still wrong. I think God's up there shaking His head going, 'Really? Really?'

"From what I understand from talking to Master's, it wasn't the place for her," she said. "She wasn't a Christian and since she believed she's gay, Master's was not a fix for her. She could withdraw or they would expel her."