NY Teacher Invites 7th Graders to Same-Sex Ceremony

A New York math teacher has invited his seventh grade students and their parents to his upcoming same-sex commitment ceremony.

The New York Times reported that 32-year-old Chance Nalley, a math teacher at Columbia Secondary School in Harlem, handed out invitations to the school's entire seventh grade inviting them to his April 4 ceremony when he will make a commitment to another man.

A few parents have complained to the school's principal about the invitation but Dr. Jose Maldonado-Rivera told them the school was like an extended family and the invitation was given in such spirit.

Nalley came out about his sexual orientation with the support of Principal Maldonado-Rivera during a diversity workshop in 2007.

When several students were asked by the Times if they were surprised to find out Nalley was gay, the students corrected the newspaper saying their teacher was not gay.

"He's not gay," said Japhet Guzman, 12, to The New York Times.

"No," agreed a 13-year-old male student, "he's not gay. He's bisexual. Why don't you ask him?"

Nalley confirmed that he is bisexual. He also noted that six students have "come out" to him this year, according to the Times.

The Columbia Secondary School math teacher said he expects two-thirds of the school's nearly 100 seventh graders to attend his ceremony at St. Paul's Chapel on Columbia University's campus.

New York's Columbia Secondary School operates through a partnership with the Department of Education and Columbia University. It is a selective public school that specializes in math, science and engineering.