Abington Heights
High School has recently welcomed the Unified Track Team (UTT) Program
into its athletic retinue, becoming only the second school in the Scranton area
to do so. The UTT team has a diverse lineup of six Special Olympic eligible
athletes accompanied by six other high school students, termed “partners,” that
participate in events with the athletes. There are also six students on the
team that help set up meets and get the competing team members ready for
competition. In an interview about the team, one of the coaches, Ms. Dorunda,
noted that “every position has equal standing” regardless of whether the
students compete or not.
The competing
team members participate in a total of eight events at meets. There are five
running events and three throwing events. The running events are as follows:
the 100 Meter Dash, the 400 Meter Dash, the 800 Meter Dash, the 4x100 Meter
Relay, and the 4x400 Meter Relay. In each event, partners and athletes compete
side by side on equal footing, sharing the burden of athletic competition and
supporting each other in every facet of the rigorous event schedule.
Ms. Dorunda and
Ms. Mrykalo, two teachers at Abington Heights High School, founded the team out
of a mutual belief that children with a diagnosed intellectual disability (ID)
do not get to interact enough with typical students their age. While
specialized schools may help to meet the educational needs of students with an
ID, these students also need social interaction. The UTT program allows for
mutually beneficial interaction between ID athletes and typical student
partners.
Hopefully more
schools will soon begin their own UTT programs, giving students with an ID a
chance to interact meaningfully with other students their age. In the meantime,
come out to support the Abington Heights Unified Track team tonight as they
take the field against Carbondale and help cultivate interaction and
understanding between all students in the Abington Heights School District.
