Laughter, teamwork, and school spirit filled the air at Poway High Schools Unified sports soccer game on Oct. 24. Another year of inclusion and fun took place as students from both general and special education classes came together on the field.
The game was filled with smiles, high-fives, and cheering as everyone worked together to demonstrate what it means to be part of the Titan community.
Unified PE is a class that pairs students with intellectual disabilities with students without intellectual disabilities.
Schools all over Southern California have joined with the Special Olympics’
Unified Champion Schools initiative to introduce these programs in their schools.
Poway took on the Ran-cho Bernardo Broncos and Westview Wolverines in an all-day tournament.
The Titans made it all the way to the championship games. First defeating Rancho Bernardo, then Westview, 2-0.
A big star of the game, senior Jordan Whitley, scored multiple goals throughout the day.
“My favorite part of the game was my teammates; they made it special, but I was nervous and excited at the same time,” Whitley said.
Throughout the game, athletes worked together passing, communicating. blocking. and scoring Junior Elle Agee describes the game as overwhelming but fun.
“The best part of the game was my coach. She was so excellent because of how nice she is, Agee said.
Unified coach Carissa Jones-Fletcher expresses how much Unified PE has helped students at Poway.
“The best part is seeing these students break out of their own shell because I had a lot of our athletes as freshmen, and they were afraid to participate, but seeing them in our Unified Sports has been great to see them in a environment where they feel comfortable enough to participate,” Jones said.
The unified class goes all year. Next trimester Unified PE is planning to participate in a students versus staff basketball game.