Special Olympics – Integrated Services Poudre School District

Last week kicked off the Special Olympics Unified Basketball season. Click here for 2016 season schedule.

Poudre School District Integrated Services Director: Sarah Belleau 2407 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521

November 9, 2015November 16, 2015

Boltz Goes Unified.

Boltz Middle School has gotten into the unified spirit. In partnership with Special Olympics, Boltz Middle School is offering Project Unified classes. Four classes are being offered, 2 for 6^th graders and 2 for 7^th and 8^th graders.
The classes are offered based off of staff recommendations and are designed for students with and without developmental disabilities, to work together to plan and facilitate events.

The Project Unified Classes provide an opportunity for students to develop relationships as peers as well as build leadership skills and job skills. “We always start class with a journal question usually encouraging them to self-reflection, leading to growth and leadership,” says paraprofessional Joy Mcneil.

The classes are student driven, with help from Integrated Service paraprofessionals, Braden
Ackley and Joy Mcneil. The big event this season was the second annual Project Unified Basketball game held this past Saturday. Students spent the semester selecting and purchasing concession stand products, designing uniforms, creating fliers, and producing video advertisements to be shown on the morning announcements. Students went so far as to contact the Denver Nuggets to request someone attend the event. Graciously, Nuggets coach and Community Ambassador Mark Randall made the trip from Denver to be a guest coach for one of the teams. Students also organized a half time game of crab-walk soccer, consisting of Coach Randall, players and students from the audience. Before heading back home, Coach Randall presented Boltz Middle School with a signed basketball and high praise. He doted on the school for starting programs of unity early, instead of waiting until high school level where they are more common. The evening wrapped up with a full gym dance party. The perfect ending to a great evening.

Boltz Middle School staff have done a great service to students by providing these Project Unified Classes. In turn, students are making life long memories in a fun and unique way that they can take pride in.

* Integrated Services would like to thank you to Coach Randall for his participation and support!

Poudre School District Integrated Services Director: Sarah Belleau 2407 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521

October 29, 2015November 16, 2015

Flag Football Finishes Strong.

Unified Flag football has wrapped up for the year but not before students played there final games at State in Denver. Congratulations players and coaches on a great year of flag football. You all did a great job!

October 12, 2015November 16, 2015

Fort Collins High School Shines Bright With Concession Stand.

The Project Unified flag football games are in full swing. While the players are on the field, another group of students are showing their school spirit off the field. Each week a group of students operate a concession stand for the football games. The concession stand is run by student volunteers from Fort Collins High School. Colleen Reyes, the Speech and Language Clinician for FCHS, started the concession stand as a way for students to support fellow Lambkins while also gaining job skill training. Reyes says the concession stand “is giving students opportunities to work with peers, practice customer service and money skills, as well as generalize communication skills outside of the classroom/ therapy setting.”

Student volunteers are tasked with buying prepackaged snacks to sell, setting the stand up, exchanging money, and supporting their school. Volunteers consist of students with and without disabilities. The proceeds from the stand go toward the Fort Collins High School Autism Program.

Poudre School District Integrated Services Director: Sarah Belleau 2407 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521

September 29, 2015November 16, 2015

Week 1 – Unified Flag Football Photos

Photos from the Flag Football program made possible through a partnership between Poudre School District athletic departments and Special Olympic of Colorado.

Poudre School District Integrated Services Director: Sarah Belleau 2407 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521

August 24, 2015November 16, 2015

Fall 2015 Unified Flag Football Schedule

Poudre School District Integrated Services Director: Sarah Belleau 2407 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521

February 6, 2015November 16, 2015

They shoot, they score! Unified Basketball is a win.

If you are looking to be inspired, you don’t have to look far. Poudre School District in connection with Special Olympics’ Project Unified has formed it’s very own unified sports basketball league with not only one but four unified high school basketball teams. Unified Sports are teams consisting of students with and without intellectual disabilities. The heart behind this project is that when you practice together, play together and learn together, understanding grows and friendships are formed.

To get to this point was a labor of love and quite a few people. One of the most instrumental people is Erin Coy, Integrated Services Coach for Poudre School District. After 10 years as a special education educator she was frustrated with the lack of opportunity at a high school level for her students with special needs.

In 2011 she and 4 other educators from Poudre School District and Thompson School District came together to create a Special Olympics Track and Field Event for high school students in the two districts. “Our mission was to provide the opportunity for students with disabilities to compete in athletic activities as a representative of their high school.” says Coy.

The event was a success and a relationship between PSD and Special Olympics was formed. In 2012, Project Unified was gaining traction in the state of Colorado. An area representative contacted Coy about the possibility of bringing Unified Sports to Fort Collins. This was what Coy had been looking for. That year she put together a unified basketball team with students from Fossil Ridge High School to play exhibition games at the Budweiser Event Center during the Harlem Globetrotters Show. The same team had the opportunity to play later that year in an exhibition game at the Pepsi Center for a Denver Nuggets game.

It was time to take it to the next level. In the fall of 2013, a district committee including Rick Yonker (2012 interim district athletic director), Sarah Belleau, and the athletic directors from each school was formed. The committee with help from Chaka Sutton and Allo Perry from Project Unify Colorado, founded Unified Sports in PSD with 2014 Winter Basketball.

Just like most teams, players try out and partner players have an additional application component. Teams generally practice about 2 times per week. Many of the schools spend practice time with freshman JV, and varsity basketball. Unified Sports are funded by PSD and Unified Sports Grants and are free to the public. This is something you should not miss!