Queensbury High School has been named a Special Olympics Unified Champion School by the Special Olympics of New York. The national recognition celebrates the school’s efforts to provide inclusive sports and activities for students with and without intellectual disabilities.
Queensbury High School is receiving this distinguished status by meeting 10 national standards of excellence in areas of inclusion, advocacy and respect. A national panel of leaders from Special Olympics and the education community developed these standards.
Queensbury High School currently offers unified bocce, bowling and basketball teams as well as unified physical education classes.
“This is a tremendous honor for Queensbury High School and a reflection of the inclusive culture our students and staff work every day to build,” said Superintendent of Schools Kyle Gannon. “We are incredibly proud of our students and staff for embracing the belief that everyone has an opportunity to be a part of our school community.”
Stacey Hengsterman, president and CEO of Special Olympics New York, said, “Congratulations to the entire school community, and thank you to the students who have come together as teammates, friends and leaders to make this achievement possible.”
Queensbury was one of just 14 schools in New York State to be named a Special Olympics Unified Champion School.
“This recognition represents who we want to be as a school community,” said Queensbury Athletic Director John Martin. “Our unified program embodies our pillars of integrity, grit, unity and purpose by creating a place where everyone belongs, everyone is valued, and everyone has an opportunity to be part of something bigger than themselves. That is what our unified program is all about. That is what it means to be a Spartan.”
The Unified Champion Schools model is supported by the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education. This model has been proven, through research, to be an effective and replicable means to provide students with and without disabilities the opportunity to form positive social relationships and promote a socially inclusive school climate.
“Inclusion and acceptance are so important,” said Lisa Higley, QHS special education teacher. “What better way to show kindness than to make everyone feel part of the community?”