Create a Community of Acceptance and Respect in Your School
Whole School Engagement activities positively impact school climate by including all students, teachers, staff, administrators. An inclusive school climate that fosters understanding and respect for all can influence how students think and act within and beyond the school. School-wide opportunities focused on social inclusion raise awareness and create an educational environment where respect and acceptance are the norm and all students feel included and engaged. This welcoming community cultivates a positive school climate and enhances other school-wide efforts.
Whole school activities also offer a platform to demonstrate the power of young people to positively impact their school community by promoting social inclusion.
For more information on Whole School Engagement contact Senior Director of Unified Champion Schools, Jeanette Gray at jgray@somt.org.
Whole School Engagement Opportunities
Inclusion Rally
Respectful and inclusive language is essential to the movement for dignity and humanity of people with intellectual disabilities. What better way to create a positive climate than in school. The r-word has become a common taunt to make fun of others, and whether intentional or not, creates a negative and hurtful stereotype of people with intellectual disabilities. Create a school of inclusion and acceptance by hosting an Inclusion Rally at your school today!
Fans in the Stands
Fans in the Stands is a program designed to promote unity and encourage students, friends, and families to get groups together to make posters, banners or organize pep rally’s for Special Olympics athletes in their schools and communities.
Fans in the stands is a great way to get classrooms and students involved in local and state-level Special Olympics Montana competitions!
Unified Young Readers
Special Olympics Montana supplies books that address topics on inclusion, awareness, friendship, bullying and acceptance for classrooms. All the selections are appropriate for students with and without Intellectual Disabilities. Each is a wonderful resource to help students work on ways to make and keep friends and identify feelings.
For more information about this program contact UCS District Coordinator, Teresa Rainforth at trainforth@somt.org.
