MT WASHINGTON, Ky. — ESPN presented Bullitt East High School with a prestigious award Wednesday for unifying students through sports.
The Mt. Washington high school was named one of the top five schools in the country for Special Olympics, Unified Sports in September.
"From everyone in the student body here it was an infectious energy," ESPN broadcaster, Mike Golic Jr., who emceed the school celebration Wednesday, said.
A banner commemorating the national recognition was unveiled at the school assembly. A national banner school is the highest honor Special Olympics presents to schools participating in Special Olympics Unified program.
"It really doesn't take flight until the student body embraces it and I think that was paramount [Wednesday] you saw it and you can feel it," president and CEO of Special Olympics Kentucky, Trish Mazzoni said.
The program promotes an inclusive environment where students with or without disabilities train and compete as teammates.
"For the generations to come, this will be where everyone is included where no one is really bullied, and everyone is accepted," president of Special Olympics North America, Tony Wyllie said.
Bullitt East has been leading by example for the past four years by starting its Project Unified club. The Unified Sports program includes basketball, track and field, and bowling. In order to play a basketball game, a five-person team is required. Two peer leader students will team up with three other students with intellectual disabilities to play a game against another group.
"Just remembering what it was like for a lot of kids I went to high school with and then seeing the way people at [Bullitt East] treat each other on just a person-to-person basis when no one's watching, that's what I always think your character is -- what you're doing when no one is watching," Golic said. "This is a high character school."
Bullitt East is the third school in Kentucky to receive this National Banner and the first to make it into the Top Five list. More than 80 Kentucky schools are currently involved in the Special Olympics program, which includes more than 6,000 schools across the country.
"We only want to increase that number," Mazzoni said. "This was a great day, but we want this to be the norm."
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