ST PAUL, Minn. — Around 500 middle and high school students from almost a dozen St. Paul Public Schools spent the day at the University of St. Thomas' Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex for a field trip they'd never been on before.
They're enrolled in a 'unified' physical education program through the Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools. This is the first school year SPPS is offering it, and teachers said the rec center field trip Thursday was for students to develop friendships that can last outside of class.
Michelle Mercado is a leader in the district's occupational therapy, physical therapy, adapted P.E. and music and art therapy programs.
"Into the lunchroom, into the community, into after school activities," Mercado said. "I have a child with special needs who is 18, and it's really important for me to have him have relationships with other kids, and I want that for students in St. Paul Schools."
Highland Park High School freshman Ray Gaddy and senior Ananyia Kebede are already friends. They have three classes together. While Gaddy prefers baseball and basketball, Kebede plays on the varsity football team.
"I'll be seeing him around, making sure he gets to the right class," Kebede said.
"And we share jokes," Gaddy added. "We actually eat at the same diner together."
Leaders set up activities including lawn games, a silent disco and - a gym class favorite - the multicolor parachute.
"Cornhole, bowling, bocce ball," Mercado said, "things that maybe kids could do outside of school, or join some community groups or bowling leagues."
They also discussed how schools can become more inclusive for when they are there.
"I met a few new people here and I found a few old friends that I knew since elementary," Kebede said. "If people were more active and like spending together with each other instead of being on their phones."
"Yeah, like this event," Gaddy added.
Demaya Walton is the director of Unified Champion Schools.
"The benefit of Unified programming is really to improve school culture," Walton said. "When students are happy to come to school, you see better graduation rates, you see more unified activity happening organically so it's less on the administrators leading the work but the students."
Mercado says the program will continue with more events, but says the scale may not be as large. This time, around 75 educators accompanied the hundreds of students to the university.
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