Poway High鈥檚 groundbreaking inclusive PE class empowers students with intellectual disabilities
POWAY, Calif. — Have you ever considered the daily challenges faced by students with intellectual disabilities navigating high school? Many of us haven’t. Poway High School (PHS) is shining a light on these often-overlooked struggles with its groundbreaking Unified PE class鈥攁 program fostering genuine connections and inclusivity through participation in sports. This innovative high school course pairs students with and without intellectual disabilities, creating a powerful sense of community and inspiring a more welcoming campus culture and world.
Partnership for inclusion
This initiative is a collaboration between the Poway Unified School District and Special Olympics Southern California, bringing the Unified Champion Schools program to PHS and soon, to all district high schools. The Unified Champion Schools strategy utilizes three core components to provide the most opportunity for creating positive social climates: Unified Sports, inclusive youth leadership and whole-school engagement.
Unified PE: an experience for all students
“Unified PE is a daily opportunity for students to build genuine friendships and a strong sense of belonging鈥攃onnections that might never have been formed otherwise,” explains Mindy Karp, the special education department chair assisting with planning and implementing the program. “We want students to understand what it feels like in the day of a student with disabilities and how we can foster empathy and promote inclusion, both during the school day and beyond.” Students develop leadership skills and cultivate a strong sense of community while participating in various sports activities.
Following a successful pilot program last year, Unified PE launched in this school year’s first trimester. There was a school-wide assembly in early November to roll out the program and provide information about the class to the students. The action-packed assembly was held in the stadium and included the Titan Ambassadors, cheer squad and ASB. Highlighting the event was a soccer match between the PHS Unified PE students versus Del Norte High School’s Unified PE team.
Genuine connections
Carissa Jones-Fletcher, chair of the PE department and head girls’ basketball coach, helped develop the engaging day-to-day active curriculum she uses to teach the class. 鈥淚 aligned the program with skills from adaptive physical education and incorporated a gameplay model in which students participate in the fun, competitive aspect of sports. I had the idea of developing a class like this years ago and am excited to see it fully realized through this partnership,鈥� she shares. 鈥淚t’s also incredibly rewarding to see students connecting outside of class鈥攖alking and eating together during breaks and lunch.鈥�
Varsity basketball player and junior Grant Rodriguez is excited to be a part of this inclusive atmosphere. 鈥淟ast year, I saw students with disabilities playing basketball by themselves in the gym and would join in with them. When I heard about the Unified PE class and that I would have the opportunity to connect daily with these students and play sports with them, I knew I wanted to be a part of it.鈥�
As participation in Unified PE grows, PHS is poised to become an even more inclusive and welcoming environment. Unified PE is transforming the school experience and paving the way for inclusivity and change.
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