Lasting friendships between students with intellectual disabilities and those without are being formed at Mead Middle School through their Best Buddies program.
Best Buddies is a global organization whose mission is to help build one-to-one friendships between people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities through shared interests, experiences, and activities.
Kristina Miller, special education teacher, is the driving force behind the Best Buddies program at Mead Middle School and sees firsthand how the program is helping to create a more inclusive school environment. “I saw so many general education students who wanted to help my Significant Support Needs (SSN) students in classes and they didn’t know the best way to approach them and include them without treating them differently. The Best Buddies program gives students a path to form friendships that often extend outside the school day. One of my students had a birthday party and a lot of their “buddies” attended. It’s great to see real friendships being formed,” Miller said.
This school year, over 80 general education students signed up to be a “buddy.” Once students are paired with a “buddy” they are asked to do different things throughout the school day like sit with their “buddy” at lunch and help them in a general education class. Miller said, “It’s so great to see my SSN students’ confidence boosted because they do have those friendships. They don’t feel separate or different. They can walk into a classroom and have about 10 kids greet them. They eat lunch with other kids and play outside with other kids. Inclusion is the biggest benefit to helping kids be successful at school.”
“Buddies” attend once a month meetings where they plan fun activities. They often plan events around holidays and recently had a Halloween party where students painted pumpkins, played games and decorated cookies. The goal is to bring students together in a fun way. “The Unified Program not only benefits the kids in the SSN programs, it gives our whole student body an opportunity to be more inclusive and more sensitive to others’ needs,” Miller shared.
In addition to the Best Buddies program, Mead Middle School offers Unified bowling and basketball. They are being recognized as a Special Olympics Unified Champion School for their commitment to providing an inclusive learning environment. On December 21, they’ll be officially recognized by the Special Olympics and receive their banner.