WCI Students Promote Unity, Basketball Drills

A group of Walnut Creek Intermediate School students lined up the cones and taught dribbling, shooting and layup drills to a team of special ed students from the east county.

The basketball program was part of Project Unify in which students participate in sports programs with a spirit of inclusion through Special Olympics.

From the Contra Costa County Office of Education news release:

It was quite the exciting day for approximately 90 East Contra Costa County special education students who participated in the Special Olympics Basketball Skills Clinic, held at Contra Costa County Office of Education’s East County Student Programs at Turner Elementary, in Antioch, this past Friday. Along with the Contra Costa County Office of Education’s (CCCOE) special education teachers and staff, there were also nine non-disabled peers from Walnut Creek Intermediate School (WCI), supporting their new friends with the basketball skill drills.
 
Throughout the day, the special-education students worked hard on their basketball shooting, passing, and dribbling, with the hands-on assistance of the WCI students, as well as others. WCI School Principal Michael Cannon (who traveled to the event with his students) said, “I am so proud of the effort our students gave to assist the athletes during the basketball event at Turner Elementary.  They interacted with everyone in a positive manner and we look forward to continuing working with Special Olympics.”
 
The special-education students came from five Contra Costa CCCOE Turner Elementary (Antioch) classrooms, two CCCOE classes at Park Middle (Antioch), one CCCOE class from Deer Valley High School (Antioch), Kimball Elementary (Antioch), and Foothill Middle (Pittsburg) schools. The event was co-produced by the CCCOE and Special Olympics of Northern California—with the day’s luncheon catered by Panda Express’ Panda Cares program.
 
East County Student Programs Principal Barbara Berman, Ph.D. said, “We were very pleased to have a group of volunteers from Walnut Creek Intermediate. The students ran the opening ceremony as well as the four different skills events. They did an amazing job, and they were very caring and patient with our students.  We appreciated their help!”
 
These generous volunteers work with Special Olympics students through Project UNIFY. As the program describes, it is not only the special education student-athletes who benefit from the School Partnership Program.  The lives of the non-disabled students are also impacted. Through their interaction with the student-athletes, the non-disabled students learn respect and acceptance of people with intellectual disabilities and to dispel negative attitudes and stereotypes. There is no question that the life lessons gained for both the special education student-athletes and the non-disabled students goes far beyond the playing field of sport.