Sports program teaches students lessons on and off the court
Through a new partnership with Unified Sports, the Woodhaven-Brownstown school district aims to make sports more inclusive for students with disabilities.
The Woodhaven-Brownstown School District's Unified Sports program brings together students with disabilities and their nondisabled peers to play alongside each other in sports like basketball.
This past school year, the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District introduced its partnership with the Unified Champion Schools program.
Unified Sports is a national organization that provides students enrolled in special needs courses opportunities to participate in school sports.
In January, the district started with its basketball program and later added bowling. Sports teams consist of students with disabilities and their partners, who are nondisabled students.
“It’s equally as beneficial for our athletes as it is for our partners,” assistant athletic director Alicia Flynn says. “It is a program for our athletes, but it’s also meant for our partners to be successful and to feel that success and … to accept each other’s differences.”
Recently, WBSD played a game against the Woodhaven Police Department. The community came out and showed their support, Flynn says.
This month, WBSD launched a Unified Sports bocce ball program. A new court was created at Patrick Henry Middle School to accommodate the newly formed team.
“We want this program to grow not only in our district but in our community and the surrounding communities as well,” Flynn says.
Photo credit: Alicia Flynn/Woodhaven-Brownstown School District
Listen: Alicia Flynn on what’s next for the program.
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