Unified Champion Schools (UCS) brings students with and without intellectual disabilities together through education and sports-related initiatives. This unified generation will lead the charge to reimagine and create communities in which all people are included and accepted. UCS is dedicated to promoting social inclusion through planned and implemented activities affecting system-wide change that provides a quick path to friendship and understanding.
Any school has the potential to become a Unified Champion School! Regardless of grade level or student community, if you are interested in joining the Unified Movement, you can make it happen.
Provides students opportunities to participate in sports activities alongside one another, which is the most conductive way to break down stereotypes – Unified Sports, unified physical education, intramurals, and inclusive Young Athletes.
A. Provides students opportunities to take on leadership roles in promoting UCS activities in the school and the community – Unified Club, Unified Student Council, and Young Athletes.
A. Provides opportunities for all students in the school to participate in UCS through school-wide activities – Spread the World Inclusion Campaign, Fans in the Stands, Kindness pledges, and Polar Plunges. Find next year’s Polar Plunge here!
A Special Olympics Unified Champion School® demonstrating commitment to inclusion by meeting 10 standards of excellence receives national banner recognition.
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.
The primary activities within these standards include: Special Olympics Unified Sports® (where students with and without disabilities train and compete as teammates), Inclusive Youth Leadership and Whole-School Engagement. Banner Unified Champion Schools should also be able to demonstrate they are self-sustainable or have a plan in place to sustain these activities into the future.
The expectation of this recognition is that the 10 standards are continuously being met, year after year. To ensure this sustainability, schools reapply for banner status every 4 years.