The impact of this Deeper Learning experience led to more of our students to understand their peers and to accept them for who they are and what they can bring to any situation. Over the course of this school year, I have loved watching our students grow in their empathy for others and develop their ability to show acceptance and understanding to their peers.
This experience has also led to a great collaboration for our school with Unified Champions (Special Olympics). Through this process our school has become classified as a Unified Champion School. With this title we will be able to continue working with Unified Champions (Special Olympics) to proceed with continuing our development of inclusiveness within our school. Also, this whole experience has really developed our students' understanding of each other and to appreciate our differences.
Our next steps for next school year is to continue working on expanding the inclusiveness within our school with the assistance of Unified Champions. During our bocce ball demonstration, the students took to the sport so much that I am writing a grant with the Special Olympics to get a bocce ball court put in our school's yard and to get an indoor court. This grant will allow us to develop a bocce ball team to compete with other districts. Seven of the students who participated in the bocce ball demonstration have stated that they would definitely sign up for the team. Also, our robotics team is looking into joining Unified Champions in competition for next school year.
Through this process this year, there are things that I would change and those that will stay the same. With the start of next school year, I would like to begin a club that is a combination of all students within our school. This club will meet to discuss ways we can continue to promote inclusiveness within our school and ways to educate others about what we're trying to accomplish. This club will then become those chosen to represent us at the next Leadership Summit with the Special Olympics. Finally, our goal is to show other schools in our district the importance of true inclusion and how it can be accomplished into their schools. Hopefully by next year more schools in Fayette County will be willing to become Unified Champions School as well.