Heartland Elementary second-grader Charles Richardson beamed as he proudly showed his red ribbon.

“I got second place in running,” the 8-year-old said. “My favorite thing was running, throwing, jumping…I jumped all the way to the end and got a ribbon. I like achieving my goals. Zina helped me today.”

Zina, his peer buddy, was one of many student volunteers from elementary schools across the district who joined in the Unified Sports Day. The event brought together nearly 1,000 students from 15 schools in the Jordan School District to take part in activities such as the softball toss, 50-meter dash and long jump. Some even ventured into the longer “cross country” run.

The Unified Sports Day is held in partnership with Special Olympics Utah to encourage inclusion and teamwork between students with and without disabilities, said Courtnie Worthen, Special Olympics Utah’s Unified Champion Schools program manager.

“It brings an opportunity for students to compete and for students with and without disabilities to be excited about their friends’ accomplishments,” she said.

Jordan Secondary Teacher Specialist and Transition Specialist Ashley Calhoun chaired the Unified Sports Day committee. She coordinated the event alongside 45 volunteers, including Riverton High School student body officers and members of the Peer Leadership Team.

“We have students with like abilities compete against one another,” she said. “Prior to this, students are with their gen(eral) ed(ucation) peers for PE and the teacher modifies and adapts the activity to meet each kid’s needs. They practice these skills in PE and we score them so they can be matched to compete here.”

Jordan’s District Athletics and Activities Director Bryan Veazie said a major goal is to foster student leadership and create inclusive school cultures.

“We want all of our schools to become unified champion schools through the Special Olympics of Utah,” he said.

Historically, the event focused on giving students with different abilities a chance to compete in four sports. But last year, peer student leaders were invited to participate alongside them. That pilot program grew and now all 15 schools have established leadership programs mirroring those at the middle and high school level, resulting in close to 1,000 elementary students participating.

To accommodate the increased participation, the event was split across two days and held at Riverton High School’s track and field. This helped keep the event manageable and enjoyable for all students.

“Another thing we decided to do is to make sure each school had T-shirts as before, some did and some didn’t,” Veazie said. “It has helped improve the organization of the event, helped teachers keep better track of their students and it helps create support for unified programs in the elementary schools.”

To provide the T-shirts, the committee partnered with the Jordan Education Foundation, which secured the donation from Destinations Travel’s Kip Lambert. 

Shirts were coordinated to match each school’s colors, and students were allowed to keep them as mementos of the day, said JEF Executive Director Mike Haynes.

“It's been fun to see unified partners out running with buddies, doing all the events together,” he said. “It’s a big culminating event with a lot of excitement, and it engages the community to provide students’ success, engagement and inclusion. It’s one of the coolest things we do.”

At Monte Vista Elementary, sixth-grader Brianna Griffiths serves as a school ambassador and was paired with a buddy for the event.

“I look forward to seeing my buddy every day and working with them; every Friday, we play together in the gym, if it’s human hungry hippo, ping pong or having a waffle party; it’s always lots of fun,” she said. “We’ve been looking forward to sports day because my buddy is energetic and likes to run, but also because they deserve attention. Sometimes people forget about them, but we shouldn’t. They’re sweet and give joy to everyone.”

Cassidy Wood, a special education support teacher at Golden Fields Elementary, appreciates not only her students’ opportunity to showcase the skills they work on, but their successes as well.

“I love seeing their smiles and excitement when they tell their peers: ‘I did it, I did it,’” she said.

At Golden Fields, third-grade students are paired with special education students throughout the year. On Unified Sports Day, after cheering their peers onto the bus, they joined them to support them in person. 

“We’ve really embraced our special ed students; our studentbody is understanding how to support kids, respect and understanding differences and learn how to help everyone feel welcome and part of a school community,” Principal Nick Hansen said. “This is a great thing. The kids are genuine and wanting to help everyone feel included and supported, and it’s mutual. They're giving, but they're receiving a lot more back. They feel happiness and joy from having friendships with these students of diverse backgrounds. It’s a good day.”

A Riverton Elementary student was excited to get a high five and a ribbon after winning her 50-meter dash heat during Jordan School District’s Unified Sports Day, an event designed to bring confidence and fun. (Julie Slama/City Journals)