Virginia School Earns National Honor for Inclusion Through Special Olympics Program

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA – It was a special Thursday morning for Bush Hill Elementary School in Alexandria, as the school was named a National Unified Champion School by Special Olympics. It's the second time Bush Hill has been named a banner school by the organization.

"It's really exciting," said Bush Hill principal Mary Duffy. "We're just so proud of our students, our staff, and our whole school community."

What the Unified Champion Schools Program Means

The Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® (SOUCS) program is a strategy for schools from Pre-K through university that intentionally promotes meaningful social inclusion by bringing together students with and without intellectual disabilities to create inclusive school environments.

The SOUCS program has existed since 2008 and is generally supported by the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education.

National Leaders Visit Campus

Two keynote speakers addressed the children of Bush Hill were Special Olympics Chairman Dr. Timothy Shriver and ESPN senior writer and college football reporter Heather Dinich.

"It's just a reminder of all the great things going on in our country," said Shriver. "Kids are growing up in a whole new world. They're playing together, they're learning to see each other as kids, not as labels. "

Dr. Timothy Shriver speaking to the students of Bush Hill Elementary School | Harry Lichtman

Inclusion at the Center of the Message

During the celebration, many students got to participate in various physical activities. Students also met Shriver, who spoke about the importance of inclusion.

"They are understanding that everybody has a role to play, and everybody has a gift," said Shriver. "They're learning how to help one another when they need it, and that goes for kids with special needs helping those who don't have special needs, or the other way around."

ESPN’s Role in the Movement

Dinich was the emcee for the event, as ESPN has served as the Global Presenting Sponsor of Special Olympics Unified Sports® since 2013.

"I'm so happy that I work for an employer who prioritizes this," said Dinich. "It's meaningful, it's impactful, and the fact that ESPN has been doing this since 2013 speaks to the commitment of it. I look forward to many more years ahead of this and hopefully participating in it more."

A Refreshing Reminder of Youth Sports

While Dinich has been busy covering the recent developments in college sports, being at Bush Hill to meet various elementary school kids was "refreshing" for her.

"This is sports at its best," said Dinich. "This is sports with youth at the grassroots level where there's not NIL money involved. There's smiles, apples, and snacks, and this is what it's supposed to be like."

ESPN's Heather Dinich speaking to the students of Bush Hill Elementary School | Harry Lichtman

Student Leadership Shines

Another one of the speakers was Bush Hill student leader and athlete Avery, who did a remarkable job leading the crowd.

"I know that we all have a big part behind why we were named," said Avery. "I feel proud for me, and then everybody at this school."

Community Leaders Celebrate the Honor

A couple other notable figures in attendance were David Thomason, President and CEO of Special Olympics Virginia, and Andrea Cahn, Senior Vice President of Unified Champion Schools at Special Olympics North America.

"It's an incredible celebration of the school, the community, and what they embody here," said Thomason. "The respect, the inclusion, the unity that they understand, embrace, and teach others. To have done that two times in a row, and being recognized by ESPN and Sports Illustrated, is incredible."

What It Takes to Earn Banner Status

More than 12,000 schools across the U.S. and 3,800 districts, including 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico, have Unified Champion Schools programming. Out of these schools, there are nearly 800 schools that actively hold banner status through the Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools National Recognition Program.

"Schools have to work really hard," said Shriver. "They have to hit 10 separate benchmarks, introduce unified sports, have young people in leadership roles, challenge to make the whole school become part of an inclusion message, remove hateful speech, put policies in place, remind people that when they do have conflicts, they can find ways to transcend those conflicts and get along."

Why Bush Hill Earned the Honor Again

Bush Hill was selected as a banner school for the second time because it successfully met and sustained the 10 standards of excellence. As part of the renewal process, schools must demonstrate that their UCS programming is self-sustaining or that they have a clear plan in place to carry forward the three core components into the future.

Core Principles of Unified Schools

The primary activities within these standards include: Special Olympics Unified Sports (where students with and without intellectual disabilities train and compete as teammates), Inclusive Youth Leadership, and Whole School Engagement.

"It's really all about inclusion," said Duffy, "and making sure all students have opportunities to play, learn and grow together. We're really proud that our students are able to learn how to interact with other individuals, and make sure that everybody is part of our school community."

Growth Across Virginia and the DMV

Currently, there are a total of six banner schools in Fairfax County Public Schools, as well as 32 across Virginia, and three banner elementary schools.

"There's so many opportunities in youth sports in this area," said Duffy. "Fairfax County has been expanding the programming for sports at the middle school level the last few years, and we just have a lot of really talented athletes in this area."

Unified Sports Expanding Regionally

Special Olympics Unified Sports especially has a significant presence in the Washington, D.C.-Metropolitan area. In Northern Virginia, Unified Champion Schools programming continues to grow at a rapid pace, with participation in schools almost doubling each year. In Fairfax, for example, it grew from 25 schools last year to 40 this year.

Additionally, Maryland has an Interscholastic Unified Sports Program that combines special education students with their non-special education peers to form teams and compete against other schools. Special Olympics Maryland works with all 24 school districts in the state to offer some form of Unified Sports.

In D.C., Unified Sports is growing, and is currently in 10 of the 19 public high schools, and also building unified programs in three of the elite private high schools to extend reach of the program. Special Olympics offers Unified basketball, soccer, tennis, track & field, and flag football in these schools.

A Broader Vision for Youth Sports

On the topic of youth sports in the DMV, Shriver highlighted that elite sports is not sports in its entirety, and that sports in its entirety means that everybody plays.

"Sports is not for people who are good enough," said Shriver. "Sports is for people to show how good they are. Everyone should play through their high school years. Not just the varsity or the junior varsity, not just the kids who want to go to a Division I, II, or III school. Everyone should be involved, and that's what the Special Olympics movement offers."

Add us as a preferred source on Google