With nearly 53,000 registered athletes and Unified partners, Special Olympics North Carolina is one of the largest Special Olympics programs in the world. Athletes have the opportunity to train and compete in 20 different sporting events throughout the year.

 

And while sports are at the core of what Special Olympics is about, Renai Lilly, Director of Inclusive Schools with Special Olympics North Carolina, said it has evolved into a space where everyone feels engaged and involved in their communities, including school.

 

“It really is about just creating opportunities for people who otherwise may not have it,” said Lilly. “I always find it so interesting when I hear from people with disabilities who have been so heavily impacted by Special Olympics, but also from people without disabilities, especially our young people, who find so much value in what they’re experiencing on a regular basis within their school community.”

 

 

There are 73 Unified Champion Schools in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Unified Champion Schools are schools that bring youth with and without intellectual disabilities together through sports and education to create school communities of acceptance and respect.

 

When working with a school, Lilly will often meet with school teams that consist of school liaisons, school administrators and/or parents. As a Unified Champion School, Special Olympics North Carolina will help support by purchasing sports equipment, providing shirts for local competitions and other school events and covering transportation for Special Olympics events, as well as provide resources and support to ensure sustainability. 

“The outcome or the goal is really to promote school cultures that are healthy and accepting of any and everybody in the school building."

Renai Lilly, Director of Inclusive Schools, Special Olympics North Carolina

“I always like to tell folks quite simply that Unified Champions Schools is all about identifying spaces and opportunities to bring young people with and without disabilities together in the school building,” said Lilly. “The outcome or the goal is really to promote school cultures that are healthy and accepting of any and everybody in the school building, and ensuring that students feel like they have a voice and a seat at the table at their own school and are engaged in their own school.”

 

And to show off that inclusivity, schools have opportunities in the spring to apply for National Banner Recognition, which highlights schools that meet Special Olympics’ 10 Standards of Excellence. Schools can reapply for this recognition every four years. 

 

Seven CMS schools have banners including Beverly Woods Elementary School, David W. Butler High School, Francis Bradley Middle School, Idlewild Elementary School, Kennedy Middle School, Lebanon Road Elementary School and Oakdale Elementary School.

 

Butler and Francis Bradley Middle have both been named to the ESPN Honor Roll which includes the top Unified Champion Schools in each participating state.

 

“It just represents what we do here every day with our unified dance, unified chorus, unified art,” said Debbie Gresham, secondary dance teacher and Unified Champions club advisor at Francis Bradley Middle, of the recognition earlier this year. “We have everything here at Francis Bradley, and anybody can be successful.”

 

“I make sure I have those intentional conversations with schools that I feel are really showing out and meeting the standards of excellence that are in place,” said Lilly. “All of the schools that have earned National Banner Recognition in CMS have absolutely deserved it. And it’s nice to have schools in the area that are represented in that way on a national level.”

 

In addition to working with schools, Lilly also enjoys collaborating with CMS departments. 

 

A new working relationship includes the Family and Community Engagement team. In February, Lilly attended Family Academy On the Go where she was able to share with families what it meant for their child to be part of a Unified Champion School.

 

“I run into a lot of parents who don’t realize what all is taking place at school with their children when it comes to Unified Champion Schools,” said Lilly. “To have that connection and really be able to funnel information and awareness to families is incredible.”

 

Lilly hopes to see more schools in CMS become Unified Champion Schools. When Lilly was in high school she was a Special Olympics volunteer, and to now see other students participate, take lead roles in coordinating events and experience the same joy she did, means a lot.

 

 

“I love to see the school collaboration,” said Lilly. “It’s incredible. The impact that the work has on our young people and just being able to sit and listen and hear from them, has been really rewarding. I love all of the teachers and school counselors and occupational therapists I have had a chance to work with. CMS is blessed to have such amazing people in these school buildings who genuinely care about all students and who want all students to have these experiences and really pour into them and create spaces for them.”

 

Is your school interested in becoming a Unified Champion School?  Contact Renai Lilly for more information.