Jiana Rush
Staff Reporter
Ironwood High School has received the honor of being chosen to be a part of the Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools National Recognition Program.
Both Ironwood’s and the Special Olympics Program’s goal is to create a safe, inclusive, and engaging environment for those with intellectual disabilities by using sports. Ironwood's very own Miss Lopez, who has been teaching at Ironwood for 15 years, teaches special education and coaches girl’s volleyball. Miss Lopez feels that this is “a special moment”. “I feel like we’ve always been there in the fact that we try to include everybody on our campus regardless of abilities or disabilities, but now it's time to showcase that.” Her goal has always been to make everybody feel included and recognized for individuality.
Last year Ironwood won runner-up in the Basketball Unified Sports competition. Miss Lopez says the competitions can be competitive but overall, confidence-building and can be recreational (eSports). Bowling is on the agenda and is “less intimidating, but it’s something where the kids can be active and get out into the community and work on social skills…”. Ironwood’s ARISE program is currently working on being more involved in clubs like Student Council and other Unified Clubs.
The Special Olympics Program offers year-long training which is held virtually due to Covid-19 regulations. Students with and without disabilities alike can experience leadership training. The sports that students participate in range from flag football to bowling to eSports. With day-to-day normalcy slowly urging its way back into society, Miss Lopez reflects on the days during Covid-19,”[Covid] took everything away so, it was really hard because I think with our program here at ARISE we really try to [implement] social skills… and community outings and all of our vocational skills”. Rather than sticking to just core classes in ARISE, the students are taught life skills and social skills. “Academics for our program might be ‘How do I get myself ready in the morning?’ or ‘How do I groom myself, brush my teeth, put deodorant on?’ or ‘How do I react to certain situations?’.” The students receive a standard education while also receiving character building and teamwork skills. She says the students were unsure at first, but she wants to promote the excitedness of unified sports at Ironwood.
As Ironwood continues to grow, we also continue to promote inclusivity and carry that out ourselves. Congratulations Ironwood, and more specifically, Miss Lopez and the rest of the ARISE staff and students!
Image Credit: thestokesnews
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