Unified Schools give educators, students, administrators and coaches the power to create a more inclusive world and help end the stigma around intellectual disabilities.
About Unified Schools
Unified Schools begin with Special Olympics Unified Sports® to build inclusive school communities for young people of all abilities. This programming creates an environment where everyone feels welcome, valued, and included both in school and in their local community.
These schools can expand their programming to include inclusive youth leadership and whole school engagement in order to become Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools®.
These schools can expand their programming to include inclusive youth leadership and whole school engagement in order to become Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools®.
Faces of Inclusion
Stories of impact in communities around the world.
Faces of Inclusion: YangLingZi School Championing Inclusion
In the heart of its region, YangLingZi School serves as a model of Unified Champion Schools, a place where students of all abilities come together to learn, play, and grow side by side.
4 Min Read
The True Beauty of Cape Town
Eltheo and Charl aimed to create a soccer club for 14–16-year-old girls, hoping to inspire school-going youth by showing them there is a future and that they can succeed if they set their minds to something.
4 Min Read
Our Work is Proven to:
94% of schools reported that Unified Schools made a big impact in reducing bullying, teasing, and offensive language.
Through Unified Schools, over 2 out of 3 students without intellectual disabilities (ID) experienced substantial positive change in interactions with their peers with ID.
In Kenya and India, 4 out of 5 teachers reported an improved sense of community after participating in Unified Schools.
Get in touch with Special Olympics to volunteer, become an athlete, join a Unified Sports team, work as a coach, and learn about upcoming events.
