A banner day: ABQ Sign Language Academy awarded unified champion status

Nehemiah Maestas loves helping his classmates, especially during the unified Special Olympics.

“My favorite part is being able to help the kids with disabilities get included and motivating them,” he said.

The eighth grader at the Albuquerque Sign Language Academy is one of the school’s roughly 35 Special Olympics athletes who participate in both Special Olympics and Special Olympics Unified Sports. The latter is a program that brings together individuals with and without intellectual disabilities to compete on the same team — with the goal of promoting social inclusion through sports. The premise aligns perfectly with the school population at ASLA, a school that supports and educates students who are hearing, hard of hearing and deaf.

That perfect alignment is one of the reasons ASLA Head Teacher Sara Garcia Ayers decided to bring the program to the school three years ago. “I really wanted to see (the students) get involved in the Special Olympics,” she said. “Everyone is able to participate in sports, have fun and have teammates just like everyone else.”

But even Garcia Ayers could not have predicted how popular the program got in a short amount of time. Currently, ASLA participates in Special Olympics bowling and swimming, and Special Olympics Unified Sports cornhole and esports.

In honor of its dedication to inclusion through sports, the school was recognized Friday as a Special Olympics Unified Champion School. This is a national recognition given out to K-12 schools and college campuses by the Special Olympics. These schools exemplify the core principals of inclusive sports, youth leadership opportunities and whole school engagement through their Special Olympics and Special Olympics Unified Sports programs. To celebrate this achievement, ASLA held a pep rally and unified sports demonstrations, during which the esports and cornhole athletes showcased their skills in front of their fellow classmates . The University of New Mexico cheerleading team was also in attendance to help the school celebrate.

During the pep rally, Samantha Swann, a program manager for Unified Champion Schools for Special Olympics New Mexico, presented the banner signifying the school’s champion school status. “This shows that the school goes above and beyond to show inclusivity on their campus and it’s incredibly important that we continue this,” Swann said.

After being presented the with the banner, the students and staff held an impromptu dance party in the middle of the gym floor. Moving and jumping to the music, it was a fitting end to a celebratory event. As Garcia Ayers took the scene in, she couldn’t help but have a huge smile for both the athletes and their accomplishments.

“It’s very gratifying to see everyone show their skills and be highlighted in a pep rally,” she said. “It’s a meaningful experience for everybody.”