The dictionary definition of Unity is to make whole or become uniform. Urbana High School’s Learning for Life program provides a chance for students to do just that. 

A regular school day for these students looks like this: first reading and computers, second block some venture out with Mocha Hut and sell coffee, while the others go on to pre-vet or office jobs. For their third block, they either do an adaptive dance or P.E. To end off their day, the students work with math.  

Outside of school, the Learning for Life students have the choice to participate in unified sports with their peers. Our school offers Unified Tennis in the fall, Bocce in the winter, and Track in the spring. “[They’re] getting the opportunity they deserve.” said Mr. G when asked what the benefit of Unified Sports is at U.H.S. Mr. G is the Bocce coach along with Coach Donahue, and also a teacher in the Learning for Life classroom. All of the students in this program are friends, they are also friends with their peers so there’s lots of support, friendships, and it’s just a big community.

In November when Unified Bocce started, the team went into it with hopes of winning plenty of matches and getting the chance to go to the State Championships. Although they did not get that chance, the season was nothing short of fun. Many matches and practices were spent laughing and singing. No matter what the outcome of a match was, the team seemed to always be in good spirits.

“Thank you for a great season, I loved the energy. Even when we were down, I always felt like we were up.” Said Mr. G as the Unified Bocce team celebrated the end of their season and received medals. 

“I’d say it’s definitely a super supportive environment; everyone is always cheering and I don’t think it’s possible to come to Bocce and not have fun.” (Rylie Lange, Sophomore) Taking a look into either a unified sports match or even just running into these students in the classroom brings joy to so many.

Classes like Adaptive PE and dance are electives students at U.H.S. can be a part of. You get the chance to teach lessons, learn dances, stretch, run, and make an impact on these students’ lives.  “Unified sports and classes are definitely something I’d recommend for everyone to do at least once in their high school career. It creates a kind of environment you can’t get in any other activity.” Said Josey Hines, a Sophomore at U.H.S. who is on the Bocce team as well as takes adaptive sports.

Get involved! Think about joining Unified Track in the spring.