Marin elementary school holds Special Olympics event

Marin Independent Journal - 1/25/2023

Jan. 25—For Marin's first Special Olympics at the elementary school level, organizers mixed in kindness, diversity and inclusivity along with the usual sports and fitness challenges.

The event took place Tuesday at Edna Maguire Elementary School in Mill Valley. Organizers paired about 20 special education students in two classes run by the Marin County Office of Education with "buddies" from the school's fourth-grade general education class.

The pairs of buddies, wearing various sports jerseys, competed in five contests, including soccer, obstacle courses and tossing and catching balls. The event, held at the school's athletic field, lasted about 40 minutes during the regular physical education period.

All the teams were winners and got medals for participating. The school also triumphed because the event merged diverse groups of students in an activity that was fun and inclusive for all, principal Daniel McCord said.

"For the year, that's been our goal, which has been to integrate all of our students," he said. "This is almost a celebration of that work."

While racial and ethnic diversity has been in a spotlight in Marin schools for several years, students with disabilities or special needs have been slow to be recognized as needing more inclusion, said Alicia Ncho-Oguie, whose daughter attends one of the county's special education classes at Edna Maguire.

Ncho-Oguie said she is thrilled that "adaptive physical education" is being offered at the school and was being celebrated at the event.

In adaptive physical education, the special education student participates in the mainstream activity, but in a modified way. That might include, for example, joining a group of general education students who are doing track sprints, but just walking along on the sidelines at a reduced pace.

"Edna Maguire has done so much work around inclusion with staff and students this year and it really shows," Ncho-Oguie said.

She said events like the one on Tuesday are what's needed to bridge the gap that causes bias against people with disabilities.

"It's just a lack of awareness," she said. "People don't know about it, so we want to raise awareness."

Edna Maguire has about 450 general education students in transitional kindergarten through fifth grade. To foster inclusivity, the school has been inviting the county special education teachers to attend regular staff meetings to see when there are opportunities for the students to participate together, McCord said.

"Our ongoing agenda is inclusion," McCord said. "For students and people of all ages, we're really not that much different as people. The question is, how can we be kind?"

Lauren Mulhern, program manager for Special Olympics Northern California, which based in Pleasant Hill, said the event Tuesday was the first such event in a Marin elementary school and was sanctioned by the organization.

She and Rachel Masciorini, adaptive physical education teacher at the Marin County Office of Education, said they hope it can be expanded to other Marin schools.

"This has been absolutely a success," Masciorini said. "It has unified students of all abilities by doing sports and fitness together."

Masciorini led the group of participating children in a special invocation for guidance.

"Let me win," she said, reciting the invocation. "But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."

Spectators included school parents as well as elected officials.

"I love this event," said Natalie Katz, a Mill Valley School District trustee and a parent of two Edna Maguire students.

Katz said she always speaks to her daughters about the importance of being open and friendly to other students who might be different in some way.

Michele Crncich Hodge, president of the district's board of trustees, agreed.

"I hope that this can be all about inclusion," Crncich Hodge said.

Edna Maguire physical education teacher Juan Guzman said event coincided with a national observance of the Great Kindness Challenge, a weeklong anti-bullying program. It wasn't planned that way, but it certainly fits, Guzman said.

"Today the focus was kindness as a team," he said. "This event is all about team kindness."

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