Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® builds on Special Olympics’ values, principles, practices, experiences and impacts to shape a generation that welcomes everyone.
Our Goal: Schools that Welcome All People
The Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools program is aimed at promoting social inclusion through intentionally planned and implemented activities affecting systems-wide change in K–12 schools and across college campuses. With sports as the foundation, the three component model offers a unique combination of effective activities that equip young people with tools and training to create sports, classroom and school climates of acceptance. These are school climates where students with disabilities feel welcome and are routinely included in, and feel a part of, all activities, opportunities and functions.
This is accomplished by implementing inclusive sports, inclusive youth leadership opportunities, and whole school engagement. The program is designed to be woven into the fabric of the school, enhancing current efforts and providing rich opportunities that lead to meaningful change in creating a socially inclusive school that supports and engages all learners. What a Unified Champion School “looks like” can vary greatly from school to school, based on the needs, goals, schedules and other factors unique to each school; but the basic building blocks remain the same.
Together we are creating a Unified Generation that Chooses to Include. Join us.
Where We Are
Collaborators
The following list of organizations are integral collaborators and supporters to the movement of inclusive schools;
- U.S. Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education
- American School Counselors Association (ASCA)
- Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE)
- Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA)
- Choose Kindness Alliance
- Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE)
- Council of the Great City Schools
- ESPN
- GoNoodle
- Hasbro
- KPMG
- Maverik
- National American Indian/Alaska Native Head Start Collaboration Office
- National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) & National Student Council (NatStuCo)
- National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
- National Federation of State high School Associations (NFHS)
- National Head Start Association
- National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAA)
- NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation
- PlayVS
- SHAPE America
- Sigma Tau Gamma
- The Daily Mile
Youth Ambassadors
The Special Olympics U.S. Youth Ambassadors are a group of 28 youth leaders with and without intellectual disabilities who are striving to make the nation a more inclusive place for all. These youth leaders act as advocates, share stories, and demonstrate the values of Inclusive Youth Leadership across the country. Through training, engagement, and activation at the national level, U.S. Youth Ambassadors are strong leaders of the Inclusion Revolution.
National Education Leaders Network
Special Olympics Unified Champion School’s National Education Leaders Network (NELN) is made up of nearly two dozen leaders in special education, research, social equity, and education leadership. The NELN will work to accelerate the UCS strategy by providing insights, direction, opportunities, and access to national education conversations. This diverse network will offer refreshing outlooks and we look forward to their expertise and guidance. The leadership appointment is part of a comprehensive nomination process that occurs every three years.
Contact
Are you ready to take the next step and become a Unified Champion School? Contact us at ucs@specialolympics.help.
