Jamaica Plain’s Curley K-8 School was one of two Boston Public Schools to receive national recognition for providing inclusive sports and activities for students with and without disabilities.
Along with the Curley K-8 School, Special Olympics Massachusetts also recognized the Mattahunt Elementary School. The Curley School and Mattahunt School received National Banner recognition as a result of meeting 10 national standards of excellence in the areas of inclusion, advocacy, and respect. These standards were developed by a national panel of leaders from the 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.
“At the Curley K-8 School inclusion is not a place, it is a mindset,” said Curley K-8 School Principal Katie Grassa. “Being an inclusive community starts within the walls of the classroom but stretches far beyond with our Unified Sports taking place during physical education classes, many of our students also participating outside of the school day in our Unified Soccer and Unified Basketball leagues. The Curley School has a student government, which puts their efforts into action during the school day by developing and sharing daily announcements and hosting spirit weeks that center around inclusion and respect.”
“These schools have demonstrated the power of inclusivity by creating spaces where students of all abilities can come together, thrive, and support one another,” said Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper. “This achievement is a testament to the dedication of the educators, staff, and students who continue to champion acceptance and unity, helping us move closer to building a more-inclusive future across all of our schools.”
Since October 2023, BPS has been implementing its Inclusive Education Plan for the Boston Public Schools. The Curley K-8 participates in the Unified Champion Schools model, which is a strategy for schools Pre-K through university that intentionally promotes meaningful social inclusion by bringing together students with and without disabilities to create accepting school environments, utilizing three interconnected components: Unified Sports; inclusive youth leadership; and whole-school engagement.
More than 369 schools are currently participating in Unified Champion Schools programming in Massachusetts as part of 10,000 schools across the country including 49 states.
The Unified Champion Schools model is supported by the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education and has been proven, through research, to be an effective and replicable means to providing students with and without disabilities the opportunity to form positive social relationships and promote a socially inclusive school climate.
