Our goal is to make Minnesota’s schools more inclusive.
Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools is a movement aimed at empowering a generation of student leaders to change their school culture to be more inclusive. With sports as the foundation, the three-component model offers activities that equip students with tools and training to create teams, classrooms and entire schools of acceptance. Unified Champion Schools are schools where students with disabilities feel welcome and are meaningfully included in all school activities, opportunities and functions.
This is accomplished by implementing three components of Unified Champion Schools: Inclusive Student Leadership, Unified Sports, and Whole School Engagement. All three areas are crucial to shift the culture of a school towards inclusion. Once the three components are active, a school is considered a Unified Champion School.
In the News
Fridley Middle School hosts inaugural Special Olympics Minnesota Cool School Mobile Polar Plunge
December 18, 2021 – Fridley Middle School students and staff braved frigid waters to rally around acceptance and inclusion as the school hosted its first Special Olympics Minnesota Cool School Mobile Polar Plunge Dec. 1.
Bemidji expands Unified Champion Schools programming district-wide
December 15, 2021 – After Bemidji High School became the first school in the area to become a Unified Champion School around six years ago, the Bemidji school district now boasts being the first district in the state to implement Unified programming district-wide.
Unified Club spreads message of inclusion at Champlin Park
December 13, 2021 – It’s not every day that high school students have the opportunity to leave campus and go bowling, but a recent trip to Bowlero in Brooklyn Park wasn’t a normal field trip for a group of Champlin Park students.
Where we are
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Join the nearly 10,000 schools nation-wide who are making our world more inclusive.
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