Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® August 2020 Newsletter
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2020-2021 Back to School Package
Regardless of what it may look like for your schools and students this year, it is Back to School season!
The Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® team is excited to share this year's Back to School Resources package. The contents of this package could not have been collected or developed without the invaluable feedback from Special Olympics Programs across the United States.
This package is accessible in three ways - as a one-pager, a Dropbox link, and by the listed contents below.
Distance Learning Resources Landing Page which provides a menu of options and ideas for each of the three components during distance learning. Consider sharing this link with your liaisons for easy access!
Follow Special Olympics North America: Check out @SONorthAmerica on Instagram! This is where you can stay up to date on all things #UnifiedGeneration and see how the voices of inclusive youth leaders are making waves throughout our Region.
Coming Soon: Final Episode of The Moment Series!– As the culmination of “The Moment Series”, our final episode is an overview of all of the characteristics that make up Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® and the #UnifiedGeneration. Check it out next week on generationunified.org.
If you have any questions about this resource package, please contact Elise Calanni.
Class of 2020 National Banner Unified Champion Schools Announced
Thank you to all the Programs and schools who participated in the 2019-2020 national schools recognition program cycle! We are excited to share that there are a total of 121 new schoolsand34 re-certified schools from 36 Programs in the 2020 cycle, making a grand total of 155 schools being honored this year! Additionally, we are thrilled to announce that this means there are now over 500total schools who have received banner recognition since the start of the pilot program in the 2016-2017 academic year!
A Special Olympics Unified Champion School has an inclusive school climate and exudes a sense of collaboration, engagement and respect for all members of the student body and staff. A Unified Champion School receiving national banner recognition is one that has demonstrated commitment to inclusion by meeting 10 national standards of excellence. These standards were developed by a national panel of leaders from Special Olympics and the education community.
Wilmer Leon, host of Inside the Issues on SiriusXM radio’s Urban View – Channel 126 dedicated an entire hour to Special Olympics on Saturday, August 15, 2020.
Follow the link below to hear a fun and lively conversation exploring the ways in which Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools are connecting with underserved students and communities. Youth Ambassador Tajha Ilerant and Director of Urban Development Ray Roberts discussed the importance of the USC program and the successes they’ve worked so hard to achieve.
As back to school season gets underway, be sure to that you are following @SONorthAmerica on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest from Unified Champion Schools and the Special Olympics North America Region.
NEW RESOURCE: Developmental Sports Implementation Guide
Special Olympics has launched the Developmental Sports Implementation Guide, which supports the sport development of children 6-12 with and without intellectual disabilities. It is packed with ready-to-use resources designed to help schools, communities and coaches effectively offer and implement developmental sports activities. This fills a big participation gap in Special Olympics globally between Young Athletes and traditional Special Olympics sports.
This guide includes sport-specific curricula from Special Olympics sport federation partners. These activities are not meant to be structured as a new Special Olympics program or initiative, but rather can be used to support a child’s transition to traditional Special Olympics participation, or as an introduction to Special Olympics Unified Sports®.
For questions or more information on Developmental Sports reach out to Jennifer Hansen (jhansen@specialolympics.org).
FREE Inclusive Youth Leadership Digital Trainings and Summit
SOUCS is excited to announce that the Foundational Inclusive Youth Leadership digital trainings released in May can now be found permanently on GenerationUnified.org! Once each student has completed the trainings and associated Exit Tickets, they will gain access to attend the next #UnifiedGeneration Digital Summit, which will be held September 25, 2020. Be on the lookout for more information to come!
Check out our recently updated Special Olympics College Map! Here you will find the location and information for SO College Clubs and Unified Sports Intramurals across the nation. Provided you have any questions or don’t see your college on the map, please email socollege@specialolympics.org.
Need Help Finding Resources?
We've created a cheat sheet to help you find them! This one-pager has links to some of the most commonly requested resources for you to easily find.
Still not sure where something is? Please reach out to Elise Calanni, Resources and Communications Specialist.
Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools®, 1133 19th Street NW, 4th Floor, Washington, District Of Columbia DC 20036, United States
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